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TUSKEGEE  INSTITUTE  LIBRAKY 

TUSKEGEE,  ALABAMA 

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PHOTOGRAPH  FROM  WHICH  WAS  PAINTED  THE  PORTRAIT 
PRESENTED  TO  VASSAR  COLLEGE. 


3In  jftemotiam 


MRS.    ERMINNIE    A.    SMITH 


MARCELLUS,  N.  Y.,  APRIL  26,  1837 
JERSEY  CITY,  N.  J.,  JUNE   9,   1886 


Ijhtntca  for  $ribntr  Circulation  bu 

LEE  AND   SHEPARD,  10  MILK  STREET 

BOSTON 


All 


to 


THE   SMITH    MEMORIAL   PRIZE   FUND   ASSOCIATION, 
AND    TO    ALL    WHO    HOLD 

THE   WOMAN 
IN     LOVING     REMEMBRANCE. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTORY  ..................        9 

MRS.  ERMINNIE  A.  SMITH  AND  THE  /ESTHETIC  SOCIETY  ...       1  1 
MEMORIAL  ADDRESS      ...............      29 


AMERICAN  ASSOCIATION  FOR  THE  ADVANCEMENT  OF  SCIENCE  .  43 

THE  CUSTOMS  AND  THE  LANGUAGE  OF  THE  IROQUOIS  ....  50 

To  A  LIZARD  IN  AMBER    ..............  66 

AMBER      ....................  68 

THE  PETRIFIED  FERN  ...............  85 

THE  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  FLORA  TO  THE  IROQUOIS      .....  87 

NEW-  YEAR  GREETING    ...............  99 

"  STILL  ACHIEVING  "      ...............  102 

IN  MEMORIAM  ..................  105 

How  FAIR  SHE  Is    ................  107 

To  ERMINNIE  A.  SMITH     ..............  108 

"BECAUSE"  ....  THOU  ART   .  no 


INTRODUCTORY. 


HPHERE  are  several  reasons  why  this  little  book  pre- 
sents itself,  and  trusts  to  be  kindly  received  :  — 

That  some  of  the  many  friends  of  Mrs.  ERMINNIE  A. 
SMITH,  who  have  desired  a  copy  of  the  Memorial  Address 
which  was  delivered  at  Vassar  College  on  the  occasion  of 
the  presentation  of  the  Prize  Fund,  might  be  gratified;  — 

That  others,  who  have  frequently  requested  further  par- 
ticulars of  Mrs.  Smith,  with  her  relation  to  and  an  ac- 
count of  the  "^Esthetic  Society,"  could  find  here  this 
information  ;  — 

That  between  these  covers,  bound  up  with  a  short  record 
of  Mrs.  Smith's  life  and  death,  would  be  preserved  some  of 
her  shorter  writings  that  might  otherwise  be  lost,  together 
with  a  few  "Echoes  of  the  ./Esthetic  Society,"  written  by  or 
relating  to  her  (the  limit  and  character  of  this  sketch  not 
permitting  selections  of  the  wit  and  humor  contributed  to 
the  Society  by  well-known  writers),  which  the  "Daughters" 
and  friends  accustomed  to  attending  the  Society  receptions 
will  be  glad  to  recognize;  — 


I  o  Introductory. 

That  here  also  should  be  discovered  recent  beautiful  contri- 
butions from  loving  friends,  who  desired  to  add  their  flowers 
of  poesy  to  this  garland,  woven  in  loving  remembrance;  — 

Lastly,  —  perhaps  I  might  say  principally, — it  is  a  sou- 
venir for  those  associated  with  me,  who  with  brave  hearts 
surmounted  obstacles,  overcame  fatigue,  and  did  not  cease 
from  their  labors  until  their  work  did  follow  them. 

By  turning  these  leaves,  they  may  gather  Pansies  and 
Rosemary,  with  which  to  refresh  their  memories  as  the  past 
recedes,  while  thoughts  of  the  absent  one  and  the  happy  days 
with  her  still  linger,  and  in  the  contemplation  of  her  life  will 
see  "  How  easy  it  is  for  one  benevolent  being  to  diffuse  pleas- 
ure all  around  her,  and  how  truly  is  a  kind  heart  a  fountain 
of  gladness,  making  everything  in  its  vicinity  to  freshen 
into  smiles."  They  will  realize  that  though  she  sleepeth, 
her  influence  remaineth  ;  —  for 

The  good  that  women  do  lives  after  them. 

SARA   L.  SAUNDERS-LEE. 


THE  BRUNSWICK,  BOSTON, 
June  9,  1890. 


MRS.    ERMINNIE   A.   SMITH 


AND 


THE   /ESTHETIC    SOCIETY. 


TT  7"HAT  constitutes  the  greatest  difference  between  one 
person  and  another,  considered  either  as  intellectual 
or  as  moral  beings,"  according  to  Dr.  Abercrombie,  "  is  the 
culture  and  discipline  of  the  mind."  Though  the  advan- 
tages are  very  great  of  having  always  lived  in  a  refined 
and  intellectual  atmosphere,  of  constantly  being  in  the  way 
of  seeing  works  of  art,  of  hearing  able  criticisms  expressed 
on  all  subjects,  yet  without  the  appreciative  soul  and  the 
love  of  knowledge  for  its  own  sake  a  person  can  never  be 
truly  cultured,  though  such  environments  may  give  a  super- 
ficial culture,  which  is  sometimes  mistaken  for  the  real  thing. 
It  is  difficult  to  define  the  exact  qualities  which  constitute 
a  cultivated  mind.  It  is  helped,  however,  in  forming,  by  the 
thoughts  and  sayings  of  the  world's  greatest  thinkers,  and 
has  therefore  a  wide  range  of  ideas  and  a  lofty  ideal,  and  is 
necessarily  raised  above  the  pettinesses  and  trivialities  of  life. 
Agreeing  with  that  writer  who  says,  "  Though  no  one  can 
acquire  the  creative  power  of  genius,  yet  every  one  can  train 
himself  to  appreciate  its  products,  and  that  the  capacity  for 


12  In  Memoriam. 

such  appreciation  grows  and  intensifies  in  proportion  as  it 
is  exercised  aright,"  Mrs.  Smith  invited  a  number  of  young 
ladies  to  her  parlors,  and  announced  her  intention  of  organ- 
izing a  society  for  mutual  improvement,  being  the  cultiva- 
tion and  education  of  a  taste  for  the  beautiful  in  literature, 
science,  and  art. 

All  were  charmed  with  the  idea,  for 

"  What  is  life  worth  without  a  heart  to  feel 
The  great  and  lovely  harmonies  which  time 
And  nature  change  responsive,  all  writ  out, 
By  preconcertive  hand  which  swells  the  strain 
To  divine  fulness  :  feel  the  poetry, 
The  soothing  rhythm,  of  life's  fore-ordered  lay  ? 

.   .  .  Oh,  to  stand 

Soul-raptured  on  some  lofty  mountain  thought 
And  feel  the  spirit  expand  into  a  view 
Millennial,  life-exalting,  of  a  day 
When  earth  shall  have  all  leisure  for  high  ends 
Of  Social  Culture." 

Mrs.  Smith  was  immediately  elected  President,  and  Miss 
Clara  Frasse,  Secretary;  the  first  text-book  used  was  White's 
"Eighteen  Christian  Centuries,"  and  topics  for  essays  and 
debates  were  taken  up  in  chronological  order.  So  for  these 
young  ladies  dawned  a  new  era.  Under  the  loving  and 
skilful  guidance  of  their  President,  the  enjoyments  of  life 
were  enormously  enhanced.  They  were  given  eyes,  in  fact, 
where  before  they  saw  not,  and  ears,  where  before  they  were 
deaf.  In  every  book  read,  and  in  every  work  of  art,  there 


•  Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  13 

was  an  added  world  of  pleasure;  and  besides  all  this,  the 
mind  was,  to  a  greater  extent,  raised  above  the  circum- 
stances of  life,  and  could  find  satisfaction  in  itself  to  a 
degree  little  realized  before ;  while  it  was  inculcated  that 
it  is  the  application  of  culture  to  every-day  life  that  is  in- 
valuable in  giving  that  "  added  grace "  which  so  beautifies 
our  relationship  with  mankind. 

Thus,  in  the  spring  of  1876,  when  the  earth  teemed  with 
new  life,  sprang  into  existence  the  "  ^Esthetic  Society," 
which  eventually  attracted  more  attention  than  any  like  as- 
sociation throughout  the  Union,  and  which  had  its  birth  in 
the  cause  that  opened  college  doors  to  woman,  or  resulted  in 
annexes,  —  the  higher  education  of  woman!  Unlike  aca- 
demic halls,  this  society  was  peculiar  in  combining  with  the 
study  of  science,  literature,  and  art,  the  study  of  how  to 
make  home  beautiful  and  happy,  practical  lessons  in  the 
reception  and  entertainment  of  guests,  and  an  initiation  into 
the  secrets  of  true  hospitality.  These,  though  not  in  the 
curriculum,  were  acquired  by  observation  and  practice ;  for 
it  has  been  very  truly  said,  "  Cultured  women  are  more 
than  usually  prone  to  take  pleasure  in  the  beauty  and  order 
of  their  houses,  and  to  love  flowers  and  animals,  and  every- 
thing which  the  typical  Eve  should  bring  about  her  to  dress 
and  keep  the  garden  of  home." 

Uncultured  women  may  do  valuable  work  in  the  world, 
(and  as  of  other  things  there  are  degrees  of  culture,)  yet 
"cultured"  women  are  in  sympathy  with  a  far  larger  num- 


14  In  Memoriam. 

her  of  their  fellow  beings,  and  therefore  their  powers  of 
usefulness  are  greatly  increased.  The  mind  being  filled  with 
more  interesting  topics,  it  rarely  occurs  to  them  to  discuss 
their  neighbors, —  they  are  far  removed  from  all  the  wretched 
scandal  in  which  little  minds  delight,  —  consequently  in  con- 
versation their  influence  is  always  elevating.  Lavater  tells 
us,  that  "  he  who  seduously  attends,  pointedly  asks,  calmly 
speaks,  coolly  answers,  and  ceases  when  he  has  no  more  to 
say,  is  in  possession  of  the  best  requisites  of  a  man ;  "  —  and 
this  is  also  equally  applicable  to  woman. 

To  possess  the  power  of  being  an  interesting  and  intelli- 
gent listener,  to  cease  when  she  had  no  more  to  say,  were 
things  Mrs.  Smith  had  early  learned,  and  a  true  estimate 
of  her  powers  kept  her  from  expressing  opinions  —  though 
she  sought  information  —  on  subjects  with  which  she  might 
be  inadequately  acquainted.  She  was  free,  too,  from  that 
dogmatic  narrow-mindedness  which  is  the  inheritance  of 
the  ignorant,  and  had  acquired  the  blessed  wisdom  of  hold- 
ing her  judgment  in  abeyance  on  subjects  of  which  our  finite 
minds  can  never  know  the  whole.  By  the  wide  range  of  her 
ideas  she  was  delivered  from  prejudice  and  intolerance,  and 
respected  the  opinions  of  others,  however  much  they  might 
differ  from  her  own. 

With  a  large  power  of  appreciation  of  all  that  is  true  and 
beautiful  in  literature,  nature,  and  art,  she  had  a  capacity 
for  appropriating  knowledge  on  a  variety  of  subjects,  a 
power  of  using  that  knowledge  aright,  and  a  talent  for  im- 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  15 

parting  that  knowledge;  while  all  felt  the  charm  which  cul- 
ture bestows,  touching  every  detail  of  life,  giving  a  refining 
sensibility  to  every  action.  She  also  had  sympathy  with, 
and  a  comprehension  of,  the  different  phases  of  human  life 
around  her,  and  a  keen  insight  into  those  higher  laws  which 
govern  our  universe. 

Mrs.  Smith  was  indeed  the  heart,  soul,  body,  and  strength 
of  this  Society.  It  originated  with  her,  and,  alas !  ended 
with  her;  for  no  one  has  felt  sufficiently  strong  to  lift  her 
mantle.  It  was  impossible  not  to  love  our  President,  or 
"  Mother,"  and,  though  a  general  favorite,  those  loved  her 
most  who  knew  her  best  She  was  made  to  be  loved,  and 
received  it  as  unconsciously  as  the  "  sunlight  drinketh 
dew ;  "  and  from  this  central  sun  "  the  Daughters  of  the  Es- 
thetics "  drew  and  dispensed  the  genial  warmth  that  made 
the  hospitality  of  this  Society  so  enjoyable,  and  made  those 
of  the  highest  talent  feel  honored  to  deliver  a  composition, 
or  to  lecture,  before  such  appreciative  people. 

Our  field  of  research  was  wisely  a  wide  one  ;  for  though 
it  is  true  a  woman  may  become  learned  when  a  special  sub- 
ject is  taken  up  to  the  exclusion  of  others,  and  pursued  with 
more  or  less  amount  of  success,  and  though  such  a  course 
may  be  necessary  to  the  woman  studying  a  profession,  it  will 
not  make  her  cultured. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  by  appropriating  knowledge 
on  a  variety  of  subjects  a  desultory  flitting  from  one  subject 
to  another  is  meant;  but  culture  implies  an  enlightened  mind 


1 6  In  Memoriam. 

on  all  topics  of  present  interest.  Strengthening  and  ele- 
vating as  is  a  more  exclusive  research  into  the  sterner  field 
of  knowledge,  yet,  as  woman's  time  for  study  is  as  a  rule 
limited,  she  must  be  content  with  a  broad  outline  on  many 
of  the  more  abstruse  subjects.  If,  however,  she  has  had  a 
certain  amount  of  mathematical  or  classical  training,  she 
will  be  cultivated  in  a  deeper  sense,  for  it  will  give  her 
that  power  of  close  reasoning,  and  those  elements  of  exact 
thought,  without  which  it  is  hardly  possible  to  comprehend 
science. 

To  speak  of  the  studies  that  occupied  the  members  of 
the  Society  would  not  be  of  general  interest;  so  I  will 
proceed  to  describe  the  more  public  "  Reunions,"  which 
were  exclusive,  and  for  which  the  cards  of  invitation  were 
eagerly  sought. 

These  receptions  occurred  monthly,  in  Jersey  City,  on 
Saturday,  during  the  winter  or  social  season,  and,  being 
held  in  the  afternoon,  a  twelve  o'clock  luncheon  was  pro- 
vided at  Mrs.  Smith's  residence  in  Jersey  City  for  those 
taking  part  in  the  day's  programme,  and  others  specially 
invited,  ofttimes  amounting  to  more  than  a  hundred  people. 
The  drawing-rooms  each  side  of  the  entrance,  and  running 
the  entire  length  of  the  house,  had  their  walls  lined  with 
cabinets  filled  with  geological  and  mineral  specimens,  fossil 
fishes,  petrifactions,  rare  pieces  of  spar,  arsenic,  and  silver 
ore;  tourmaline,  malachite,  lapis  lazuli,  rhodenite,  and  some 
unequalled  examples  of  agate  and  precious  gems,  beside 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  17 

curious  treasures  from  the  animal  and  vegetable  kingdoms. 
Pottery  and  other  curios  —  Indian  implements  and  weap- 
ons, trophies  from  Europe  and  elsewhere,  together  with  rare 
prints  and  engravings  —  were  scattered  or  hung  about;  and, 
adding  to  all  this  different  musical  instruments,  the  rooms 
were  at  once  museum,  parlor,  and  music-room. 

Here  could  be  seen  the  Indian  costume  of  doeskin,  richly 
embroidered  with  beads  and  hung  with  little  hammered- 
silver  plates,  the  pair  of  moccasins,  the  wampum  belt,  and 
the  head  covering  which  Mrs.  Smith  wore  at  the  ceremony 
of  adoption  into  the  Tuscarora  tribe  ;  —  here  were  seated  for 
luncheon  those  whom  Emerson  calls  "  the  chief  ornament 
of  a  house,  —  the  guests  who  frequent  it ;  "  —  and  here  was 
given  the  liberal  education  in  the  arts  of  hospitality  to  the 
"  Daughters,"  who  were  instructed  upon  these  occasions  "  to 
make  themselves  generally  useful  and  entertaining,"  and, 
after  the  refreshments,  to  accompany  the  friends  to  the 
edifice  where  were  assembled  those  invited  only  to  the  lit- 
erary part  of  the  entertainment,  which  consisted  of  music, 
recitations,  "  art  talks,"  original  essays  or  poems  by  eminent 
people,  discussions  on  some  leading  topic  of  the  day,  or  the 
exhibition  of  some  new  discovery  or  application  of  science. 

These  receptions  became  so  popular,  that  it  was  soon 
evident  that  the  prescribed  limits  of  private  parlors  were 
inadequate,  and  the  lecture-room  of  the  Lafayette  Reformed 
Church  was  kindly  placed  at  Mrs.  Smith's  disposal.  Mean- 
while, Mrs.  Smith,  although  of  another  denomination,  with 

3 


1 8  In  Memoriam. 

that  wide-reaching  charity  which  was  one  of  her  character- 
istics, was  so  active  in  procuring  funds  for  the  completion 
of  the  new  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  adjoining  her  resi- 
dence, that  the  bread  she  had  cast  upon  the  waters  was 
returned  to  her,  when  the  building  was  completed,  in  an 
invitation  to  use  it  for  her  meetings,  which  by  this  time  had 
outgrown  and  overflowed  the  lecture-room. 

This  was  occasioned  by  the  "  .^Esthetics "  having  con- 
sented to  increase  their  membership,  while  instituting 
yearly  dues  to  defray  the  expenses  of  an  extended  series 
of  lectures ;  and  a  society  originally  composed  of  twelve 
members  —  shortly  after  increased  to  sixteen  young  women 
students  —  expanded  until  it  filled  a  church  ! 

"  This  is  a  wonderful  organization,  and  I  do  not  think 
it  can  be  equalled  in  the  United  States,"  exclaimed  Pro- 
fessor Morse  of  Peabody  Institute,  the  first  time  he  saw 
the  number  of  friends  assembled,  at  the  invitation  of  Mrs. 
Smith,  to  enjoy  the  literary  and  musical  treat  prepared  by 
the  ^Esthetics  under  her  direction.  And  when  one  thinks 
of  the  guests  there  collected,  —  clergymen  of  different  creeds, 
United  States  officials,  governors  and  statesmen,  presi- 
dents of  colleges  and  professors,  representatives  of  scien- 
tific societies  at  home  and  abroad,  —  American  and  foreign 
artists,  musicians,  and  literati,  together  with  the  cultured  of 
society,  —  can  it  not  be  truly  said,  "  There  was  one  woman 
capable  of  forming  an  American  salon"? 

Some  one  has  written  that  "  the  greatest  pleasure  of  life 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  19 

is  to  know  how  to  admire  rightly,"  and  this  sign  of  a  cul- 
tured mind  Mrs.  Smith  possessed.  Not  necessarily  need  a 
woman  have  an  advanced  education  to  obtain  this  pleasure, 
nor  is  it  necessary  for  her  to  have  more  than  the  average 
amount  of  advantages  which  travelling  in  different  countries 
and  viewing  life  under  different  aspects  gives,  still  a  correct 
taste  for  the  fine  arts  can  hardly  be  acquired  by  book 
learning,  and  the  more  opportunities  she  has  had  for  ac- 
quiring that  correct  taste,  and  acquainting  herself  with  the 
greatest  works  of  men's  hands,  the  wider  will  be  the  sense 
in  which  she  is  cultured. 

These  opportunities  Mrs.  Smith  wisely  improved  in  the 
several  years  she  had  passed  abroad  educating  and  study- 
ing with  her  sons,  appreciating  that  "  Adaptability  plus 
Opportunity  is  God's  call  to  any  position  in  life."  In  addi- 
tion to  travelling,  she  had  attended  lectures  from  some  of  the 
most  celebrated  scientists ;  had  made  explorations  nearly 
two  thousand  feet  under  the  earth,  in  the  mines  of  Saxony ; 
had  proved  her  courage,  and  continued  her  researches,  by 
descending  in  the  only  means  of  descent — a  bucket  —  many 
hundred  feet  in  the  Hartz  Mountains ;  and  as  she  had  many 
interests  and  an  open  mind,  all  knowledge  she  gathered  was 
assimilated  and  stored  for  future  use.  Furthermore,  her  own 
contributions  to  the  knowledge  we  have  of  the  Aborigines 
are  second  to  those  of  no  student  in  that  important  field  ; 
so,  since  "  Intellect  is  the  atmosphere  of  the  soul,"  she  was 
greatly  appreciated  by  men  of  letters  and  science. 


2O  In  Memoriam. 

Even  after  this  interval  of  time,  it  is  impossible  to  write 
calmly  of  our  sorrow,  when,  despite  all  efforts  to  retain  her, 
we  realized  she  had  heard  the  summons  of  the  King,  and 
would  soon  pass  to  the  other  shore,  where  one  of  her  sons 
stood  with  the  angel  band  to  sing  her  "  Welcome  Home." 

Having  no  own  daughters,  her  kind  and  sorrowing  hus- 
band granted  the  request  of  the  "  Esthetic  Daughters,"  and 
permitted  them  to  remain  with  and  minister  unto  their 
beloved  "  Mother  ; "  but  to  the  regret  of  many,  circum- 
stances prevented  their  often  availing  themselves  of  this 
privilege,  so  that  Miss  Churchman  and  Miss  Ella  Dudley 
were  the  ones  most  with  her,  and  have  now  the  happy  as- 
surance that  their  loving  care  made  more  comfortable 
her  journey  to  the  tomb. 

Mrs.  Smith's  restoration  to  health  was  expected  by  her 
physicians,  until  her  death.  Only  a  week  preceding  this 
event,  at  a  consultation  it  was  decided  she  would  recover; 
and  it  was  not  until  an  hour  before  her  death,  when  the 
heart  was  attacked  with  paralysis,  that  her  condition  was 
considered  serious. 

A  woman  with  less  energy  and  conscientiousness  of  pur- 
pose might  still  be  living,  but  Mrs.  Smith,  after  the  com- 
mencement of  her  ill  health,  frequently  rose  from  a  sick-bed 
to  attend  some  meeting,  give  a  lecture,  or  write  scientific 
articles,  and  the  epitaph  lightly  proposed  for  himself  by 
another  historian  is  equally  applicable  to  her,  —  "She  died 
learning." 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  21 

On  the  day  of  the  funeral,  the  intimate  friends,  the 
"  Daughters,"  and  delegates  from  Sorosis  and  the  various 
scientific  societies  of  which  Mrs.  Smith  was  an  officer  or 
member,  gathered  early  with  the  bereaved  family  at  her  late 
residence.  There,  in  one  of  the  long  drawing-rooms  where 
her  hospitality  had  been  dispensed  amid  sounds  of  joy  and 
gladness,  her  body  lay  in  peaceful  repose,  amidst  the  evi- 
dences of  her  busy  life  and  explorations  into  the  realms  of 
Nature.  But  the  Soul,  "the  Knowing,"  "the  rich  star- 
travelled  stranger,  who  here  sojourneth  only  for  a  purchase," 
had  passed  to  the  Unseen,  where  there  were  no  more  doubt- 
ful questionings  regarding  Prehistoric  Time;  no  further  se- 
crets of  the  Palaeozoic  Age  to  discover; — in  the  twinkling 
of  an  eye  all  mysteries  had  been  made  clear ! 

Thou  art  not  here,  but  well  we  know, 

"Where'er  thy  spirit  dwells,  she  dwells  in  full 
Regality  of  nature  !  crowned  with  power, 
With  purity  clothed,  and  girt  with  grace. 

...  All  truth 
Thou  holdest  now,  all  knowledge. 

.  .  .  On  other  shores 

The  Kings  of  Thought  salute  thee.     Thou  hast  past 
The  river  of  Judgment ;  and  the  saintly  land 
Of  the  elect  immortals  guests  thee  now." 

Among  the  numerous  flower  offerings  was  a  large  bank 
of  roses,  from  which  arose  a  floral  shaft  surmounted  by  a 
wreath.  Upon  the  white  silk  ribbon  which  tied  the  wreath 
was  written,  "  With  fondest  love  from  thy  Daughters."  She 


22  In  Memoriam. 

whom  we  loved,  rested,  in  the  glory  of  her  womanhood,  so 
calm  and  happy,  embowered  among  the  profusion  of  flowers 
always  so  welcome  to  her  because  "  they  talked  to  her,"  that 
it  was  difficult  to  realize,  that  never  again  would  we  hear  her 
strengthening  words  of  faith,  hope,  and  love. 

As  the  hour  approached  for  the  services  at  the  church, 
the  friends  at  the  house  took  a  last  silent  farewell,  the  casket 
was  closed,  and  they  joined  the  cortege  that  conveyed  it  to 
the  Lafayette  Reformed  Church,  which  was  crowded  to  over- 
flowing, there  being,  according  to  the  newspaper  reports, 
upward  of  twelve  hundred  people,  making  the  largest  at- 
tendance ever  witnessed  in  Jersey  City  at  the  funeral  of 
a  lady. 

The  sad  procession  entered  the  church  in  the  following 
order :  the  Rev.  Dr.  Duryee,  pastor  of  the  church ;  casket 
borne  by  the  pall-bearers,  Rev.  Cornelius  Betts  of  the  Bergen 
Reformed  Church,  Rev.  J.  Howard  Suydam  of  the  Park 
Reformed  Church,  Prof.  J.  S.  Newberry,  President  of  the 
New  York  Academy  of  Science,  Prof.  Thomas  Eggleston  of 
Columbia  College,  Rossiter  Johnston,  and  Albert  U.  Todd ; 
members  of  the  family,  the  "  Daughters,"  and  the  delegates 
from  Sorosis  and  other  societies;  and,  as  the  casket  was 
borne  slowly  up  the  aisle  toward  the  altar,  Mrs.  Clementine 
Lasar  Studwell  sang  the  beautiful  hymn,  "  Asleep  in  Jesus." 

After  the  family  and  chief  mourners  had  taken  the  seats 
reserved  for  them,  Dr.  Duryee  began  the  impressive  services 
which  affected  many  to  tears.  Mrs.  Studwell,  Mrs.  Flor- 


Mrs.  Erntinnie  A.  Smith.  23 

ence  Rice-Knox,  and  Miss  Clara  Stutsman  sung  the  solos 
in  "  I  Know  that  My  Redeemer  Liveth,"  and  "  Beyond  the 
Smiling  and  the  Weeping,"  with  exquisite  pathos,  and  the 
sympathetic  blending  of  their  voices  in  the  duets  was  touch- 
ing in  the  extreme ;  while  those  who  heard  the  eloquent 
eulogy,  purely  unconventional,  which  was  delivered  by  the 
pastor,  will  never  forget  it. 

Those  who  desired  were  given  the  opportunity  to  view 
the  remains,  which  then  were  carried  to  the  New  York 
Bay  Cemetery,  and  interred  after  a  brief  ceremony  at  the 
grave. 

"  Thou  wert  a  love-gift  heaven  once  gave  to  earth, 
And  took  again,  because  unworthy  of  thee.  .  .  . 
.  .  .  Heaven  is  happier  now  that  thou  art  there, 
Sweetest  of  human  spirits,  and  for  us 
Enough  the  blessing  to  have  known  thee  here. 

Yet  one  more  look  ;  farewell,  thou  well  and  fair  ! 
"  All  who  but  loved  thee  shall  be  deathless :  naught 
Named,  if  with  thee,  can  perish.     Thou  and  death 
Have  made  each  other  purer,  lovelier  seem, 
Like  snow  and  moonlight.     Never  more  for  thee 
Let  eyes  be  swollen,  like  streams  with  latter  rains. 
Thy  soul  hath  passed  out  of  a  bodily  heaven 
Into  a  Spiritual Rest !  " 


24  In  Memoriam. 

Time  passed.  When  the  year  had  rolled  away,  the 
"  Daughters,"  with  several  of  Mrs.  Smith's  personal  friends, 
met  at  her  grave  on  the  anniversary  of  her  death,  bringing 
flowers  and  plants  with  which  to  decorate  her  resting  place, 
and  as  a  labor  of  love  themselves  transplanted  their  offer- 
ings to  the  soil  which  covered  her  burial  plot,  so  that  it  soon 
became  a  beautiful  parterre  of  bloom  and  color,  although  the 
day  was  dull  and  dreary ;  the  light,  gentle  rain  which  fell 
making  it  seem  as  though  Nature,  realizing  what  a  friend 
she  had  lost,  sympathized  and  wept  with  them. 

The  suggestion  was  here  made  to  raise  some  lasting  monu- 
ment other  than  stone  —  a  handsome  granite  shaft  having 
already  been  erected  by  her  bereaved  husband  —  to  her 
memory,  and  a  committee  was  selected,  comprising  Mrs. 
E.  F.  C.  Young,  Mrs.  J.  F.  McCoy,  Mrs.  Robert  Gilchrist, 
Mrs.  F.  J.  Mallory,  Mrs.  Marcus  Beach,  Mrs.  Robert  G. 
Lyle,  Mrs.  Rossiter  Johnston,  Mrs.  "Jennie  June"  Croly, 
Mrs.  Henry  Herrman,  Mrs.  Oliver  B.  Bunce,  Mrs.  C.  Lasar 
Studwell,  and  "  the  Daughters,"  to  further  this  object. 

With  the  exception  of  one  or  two  whose  time  was  other- 
wise engaged,  all  invited  to  join  gladly  accepted ;  and 
at  the  first  meeting  called,  —  at  which  Mrs.  Young  was 
elected  President,  Mrs.  McCoy,  Vice-President,  Mrs.  Herr- 
man, Treasurer,  and  Mrs.  Sara  L.  Saunders,  Secretary,  — 
many  plans  were  discussed  and  declined,  but  it  was  finally 
decided  to  create  a  "  Prize  Fund,"  which  should  be  pre- 
sented to  some  college  for  women ;  and  to  raise  the  necessary 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  25 

amount  of  money,  it  was  proposed  to  give  two  musical  and 
literary  entertainments,  one  to  be  held  at  the  residence  of 
Mrs.  Herrman  in  New  York  City,  the  other  at  the  "  Jersey 
City  Athletic  Club  House,"  which  the  club  kindly  offered  for 
this  purpose.  The  majority  of  the  committee  were  ladies 
of  Jersey  City,  who  entered  heartily  into  the  work ;  so  the 
reception  given  there  under  their  auspices  was  very  brilliant. 

It  is  difficult  to  particularize  where  all  cheerfully  and 
earnestly  assisted ;  yet  the  Association  felt  so  greatly  in- 
debted in  many  ways  to  their  generous  and  charitable  treas- 
urer, Mrs.  Henry  Herrman,  who  by  her  services  and  the  use 
of  her  house  had  very  materially  strengthened  their  efforts  to 
raise  the  desired  amount,  that,  to  show  their  appreciation,  a 
vote  of  thanks  was  tendered  her  at  one  of  their  meetings. 

It  was  a  happy  hour  when  this  band  of  loyal  friends  found, 
in  a  comparatively  few  months  from  the  gathering  at  the 
grave,  that  their  labors  were  crowned  with  success ;  for  they 
had  realized  over  a  thousand  dollars,  the  interest  of  which 
would  become  an  annual  prize,  or  prizes,  for  the  best  work  in 
Mineralogy  or  Geology  at  Vassar,  —  which  was  the  college 
selected  to  perpetuate  Mrs.  Smith's  memory. 

Upon  the  second  anniversary  of  Mrs.  Smith's  death, 
about  twenty  delegates,  chosen  to  accept  the  invitation  of 
the  President,  Rev.  J.  M.  Taylor,  D.  D.,  to  visit  that  insti- 
tution, met  at  the  Grand  Central  Depot,  where  was  in 
readiness  a  special  car  to  carry  them  to  Poughkeepsie. 

Arriving  at  the  College,  they  were  conducted  to  the  suite 

4 


26  In  Memoriam. 

of  rooms  placed  at  their  disposal,  and,  removing  the  traces 
of  the  dusty  car-ride,  were  escorted  to  one  of  the  parlors 
beautifully  decorated  with  daisies,  — the  Vassar  flower, —  and 
masses  of  daffodils  and  buttercups,  surrounding  an  easel 
upon  which  rested  a  life-like  portrait  of  Mrs.  Smith,  which 
was  to  be  presented  with  the  funds  to  the  College.  Here 
the  reception  committee  introduced  them  to  the  President, 
Trustees,  Faculty,  and  invited  guests,  who  gave  them  a 
cordial  welcome;  and  after  a  few  moments  of  conversation, 
President  Taylor,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Young,  President  of 
the  Association,  led  the  way  to  luncheon,  which  was  laid  in 
another  parlor  fitted  up  for  the  occasion. 

At  its  conclusion,  the  Secretary  of  the  Association  pre- 
sented the  picture  and  legal  documents  to  Vassar  in  a 
memorial  address,  responded  to  by  Dr.  Taylor,  who  ac- 
cepted the  gifts  on  behalf  of  the  College,  with  a  few  brief 
but  graceful  remarks,  congratulating  the  Association  upon 
the  form  their  memorial  had  taken,  and  thanking  them  for 
choosing  Vassar  College  as  the  medium  through  which 
Mrs.  Smith's  memory  should  be  perpetuated.  The  re- 
mainder of  the  afternoon  was  passed  in  visiting  the  library, 
students'  apartments,  museums,  laboratory,  and  observatory; 
and  in  strolling  through  and  admiring  the  beautiful  and 
extensive  college  grounds,  until  it  was  time  for  departure, 
when,  joining  in  a  parting  cup  of  tea,  and  expressing  their 
appreciation  of  so  delightful  a  visit  and  hospitable  welcome, 
the  delegates  returned  to  New  York. 


Mrs,  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  27 

The  presentation  having  been  made  at  the  period  for  the 
annual  Commencement  exercises,  the  students  were  unable 
to  be  present ;  so,  at  the  request  of  the  President  and  Fac- 
ulty, who  desired  the  young  ladies  to  know  something  re- 
garding the  woman  whose  memory  was  worthy  to  be  retained 
through  the  prizes  bearing  her  name,  the  Memorial  Address 
was  again  read  by  the  Secretary  before  the  assembled  College 
in  the  chapel,  February  6,  1889. 

These  details  concerning  the  Prize  Fund  may  not  be  of 
interest  to  the  general  reader,  yet  will  be  appreciated  by 
those  who  took  an  active  part  in  the  work,  as  they  have 
many  memories  clustering  around  each  step  that  was  taken, 
and  it  will  be  gratifying  to  them  to  know  what  have  been 
the  beneficial  effects  of  this  Prize  Fund  upon  the  work  of 
the  College,  and  who  in  this  first  year  of  its  usefulness 
have  been  the  recipients  of  its  rewards. 

By  vote  of  the  Faculty,  the  award  was  arranged  in  two 
prizes,  one  First  Prize  of  $30,  and  a  Second  Prize  of  $20. 
For  the  year's  course  1888-89,  the  First  Prize  was  received 
by  Miss  Cora  L.  Scofield  of  Washington,  Iowa,  who  was 
very  even  and  excellent  in  all  branches  of  the  required 
work,  and  acknowledged  by  all  to  lead  the  class.  It  was 
deemed  just  to  make  a  division  of  the  Second  Prize  be- 
tween Miss  Bessie  V.  Gaines  of  Mossing  Ford,  Virginia,  and 
Miss  Sara  C.  Gates  of  Bay  City,  Michigan,  because  Miss 
Gates  had  an  advantage  over  Miss  Gaines  in  also  being  a 
student  in  the  department  of  Chemistry  and  Physics ;  but 


28  In  Memoriam. 

being  nervous,  and  part  of  the  time  rather  an  invalid,  her 
work  was  not  so  evenly  good.  The  excellent  microscopic 
sections  of  fossil  corals,  and  other  geological  specimens, 
made  by  the  class  in  their  regular  work,  are  now  on  ex- 
hibition in  the  Museum,  and  make  a  fine  show. 

Thus  it  is  shown  that  Mrs.  Smith's  influence  is  ever  widen- 
ing, —  in  the  one  year  reaching  from  the  Middle  States  both 
West  and  South,  —  and  her  usefulness  continues  beyond  the 
grave ;  how  useful,  it  remains  for  these  young  ladies  and 
their  successors  in  obtaining  the  prizes  to  demonstrate,  and, 
judging  the  future  by  their  past  work,  there  will  be  no 
limit  to  the  unconscious  influence  exerted  by  Mrs.  Smith's 
memory. 

One  of  the  beautiful  flower-pieces  seen  at  Mrs.  Smith's 
funeral  was  an  open  book  made  of  white  roses,  across  the 
pages  of  which  was  formed  in  colored  flowers  the  word 
"  Finis."  But  it  was  not  so,  for  we  now  see  that  "  Here 
only  beginneth  the  end,  —  the  end  of  the  old  life,  the  be- 
ginning of  the  new.  For  all  life's  ends  are  beginnings,  till 
its  final  end  begins  the  Endless !  " 

"  Death  means  reunion  with  the  deathless  ;  range 
With  our  translated  elders  ;  consciousness 
Enlarged  of  the  Eternal  Spirit,  unmarred 
By  bodily  needments  ;  life  at  one  with  God  ; 
And  faith's  high  promises  confirmed  by  fate." 


MEMORIAL   ADDRESS 

DELIVERED   AT  VASSAR   COLLEGE,   JUNE  9,    1888. 


.  PRESIDENT,  FACULTY,  AND  STUDENTS  OF  VAS- 
SAR  COLLEGE, — The  ladies  of  Jersey  City  and  New 
York,  friends  of  the  lamented  ERMINNIE  A.  SMITH,  desir- 
ing to  establish  a  perpetual  memorial  of  that  brilliant  and 
noble  woman,  decided  this  could  be  best  accomplished  by 
creating  a  Prize  Fund  for  young  women,  and  selected  your 
honored  institution  as  its  recipient. 

Not  the  least  of  the  good  deeds  in  Mrs.  Smith's  useful  life 
was  the  stimulus  she  imparted  to  the  young  girls  whom  she 
loved  to  gather  around  her,  and  whom  by  her  magnetic  and 
sympathetic  nature  she  incited  to  high  and  worthy  aspira- 
tions. It  is  therefore  fitting  that  her  memorial  should  be 
of  a  character  calculated  to  continue  her  work,  and  in  the 
line  which  most  interested  herself. 

We  have  therefore  made  it  an  annual  prize  of  money  for 
work  in  Mineralogy  and  Geology. 

In  the  town  of  Marcellus,  New  York,  in  the  year  1837,  was 
born  to  Joseph  Platt  (one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  that  town) 
a  daughter.  This  child  was  christened  Erminnie  Adele  Platt. 


30  In  Memoriam. 

As  she  grew,  although  of  a  genial,  fun-loving,  frolicsome 
disposition,  Erminnie  was,  in  her  peculiar  way,  devoted  to 
the  acquisition  of  knowledge,  possessed  of  a  very  inquisi- 
tive turn  of  mind,  and  never  satisfied  until  she  had  discovered 
the  very  root  of  the  subject  that  interested  her.  So  it  is 
not  strange,  that,  with  the  scientific  tastes  inherited  from  her 
father,  combined  with  her  love  of  open-air  sports,  she  early 
developed  a  taste  for  Botany,  Mineralogy,  and  Geology,  — 
always  searching  for  something  curious  in  Nature,  and 
gathering  specimens  for  a  collection,  the  commencement  of 
that  one  which,  before  her  death,  had  grown  to  be  one  of 
the  valuable  private  collections  in  this  country.  She  was 
a  happy  child,  given  a  hammer  and  a  stone  to  peck  at, 
and  may  therefore  be  the  cause  of  the  saying,  "  Give  the 
baby  the  looking-glass  and  hammer  to  keep  it  quiet !  " 

She  used  to  gather  beech  leaves  and  fasten  them  in  the 
tiny  pools  of  water  until  they  had  taken  on  the  lime  incrus- 
tations ;  and  in  her  cabinet  may  be  seen  a  few  of  these  still 
bright  leaves  from  the  history  of  a  merry,  sunny-tempered 
little  girl. 

At  fourteen,  Erminnie  entered  Miss  Willard's  school  at 
Troy,  where  she  closely  applied  herself  to  study,  and  gradu- 
ated when  seventeen  years  old.  During  vacations,  the  ven- 
erable Dr.  Arthur,  father  of  the  late  Ex-President,  gave  her 
instructions  in  Greek  and  Latin. 

Within  a  year  after  leaving  school,  Miss  Platt  married 
Simeon  H.  Smith,  afterward  Finance  Commissioner  of 


Mrs.  Ertninnie  A.  Smith.  31 

Jersey  City.  In  that  she  could  continue  after  marriage 
her  intellectual  pursuits,  she  was  singularly  fortunate  in 
her  family  relations. 

When  her  four  sons  were  old  enough,  she  went  with  them 
to  Europe,  and  placed  them  at  school.  They  studied,  and 
she  studied ;  and  the  bright  enthusiastic  mother  was  the 
most  unwearied  learner  of  them  all.  How  can  we  speak  too 
highly  of  the  blessings  of  a  cultured  mother,  —  a  mother 
who  will  give  the  young  minds  that  "  bent,"  and  encourage 
their  tastes  for  high  pursuits  which  will  give  them  some- 
thing to  live  for  beside  pleasure-seeking  and  amusements, 
and  who  will  put  everything  before  them  to  give  that  love 
of  knowledge  for  its  own  sake  of  which  she  so  well  knows 
the  value !  Her  boys  finished  their  school  years  without 
ever  having  been  separated  from  their  mother;  and  there 
is  something  very  fine  and  touching  in  the  thought  of 
the  mother  and  boy  learners,  all  working  together  gaining 
knowledge. 

She  entered  the  School  of  Mines  at  Freiburg,  taking 
lessons  in  Mineralogy,  Geology,  and  the  use  of  the  blow- 
pipe. The  solitary  woman  student  was  such  a  wonder  in 
that  region,  that  the  German  newspapers  noted  the  fact, 
and  called  her  "  the  North  American  lady."  She  was  the 
first,  and  it  is  said  the  only,  woman  who  has  attended  the 
school. 

The  Polarization  of  Light  claimed  her  attention  at  Ober- 
stein,  Germany,  where  so  large  a  quantity  of  the  secondary 


32  In  Memoriam. 

gems  in  the  world  are  cut,  but  where  special  attention  is 
given  to  the  cutting  of  stones  for  lenses  and  scientific  pur- 
poses. The  mills  here  are  very,  very  old,  the  industry  dating 
back  to  the  Middle  Ages. 

At  Strasburg,  she  studied  Crystallography,  and  received 
private  lessons  from  the  Professors  in  the  University,  in 
French  and  Literature;  and  at  Heidelberg,  devoted  her 
time  to  German  and  its  literature,  with  the  famous  Pro- 
fessor Otto. 

She  also  visited  the  coast  of  the  Baltic  Sea,  to  investigate 
the  Amber  Fisheries;  and  among  her  treasures  is  a  roundish 
lump  of  amber,  imprisoning  in  its  shining  yellow  depths  the 
form  of  a  tiny,  sprawling  pre-historic  lizard. 

In  1876,  at  the  entreaties  of  some  young  friends,  Mrs. 
Smith  organized  a  class  for  the  study  of  music,  literature, 
and  the  sciences,  under  the  name  of  "  The  Daughters  of  the 
^Esthetics,"  using  that  word  in  its  true  meaning. 

This  society  became  so  popular,  that  it  soon  numbered 
over  five  hundred  members,  (beside  the  sixteen  "  Daugh- 
ters,") and  it  became  necessary  to  make  the  entertainments 
more  public.  These  receptions  not  only  elevated  the  intel- 
lectual tone  of  Jersey  City  society,  but  brought  as  their 
guests  many  of  the  brilliant  minds  in  the  worlds  of  science 
and  belles-lettres,  from  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  and  drew 
together  audiences  which  were  unrivalled.  On  these  occa- 
sions it  was  the  pleasant  duty  of  the  "  Daughters  "  to  assist 
our  "  Mother  "  in  entertaining  her  guests. 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  33 

Mrs.  Smith  was  an  active  working  member  of  Sorosis, 
from  its  commencement  until  the  time  of  her  death.  "  Jennie 
June  "  (Mrs.  Croly),  then  President,  speaks  of  the  days  on 
which  Mrs.  Smith  read  papers  as  the  "  red  letter  days  of 
Sorosis." 

Through  geological  researches,  and  from  her  childhood 
home  being  near  one  of  the  Indian  Reservations,  Mrs.  Smith 
early  became  interested  in  Indian  life  and  habits,  and  col- 
lected a  volume  of  quaint  Indian  Mythology  and  Folk-lore, 
which  was  published,  with  illustrations,  by  the  United  States 
Bureau  of  Ethnology.  These  studies  in  Indianology  pre- 
serve for  us  a  record  of  a  people  now  almost  vanished  from 
the  earth,  and  will  greatly  assist  archaeologists  to  trace  out 
the  history  and  origin  of  the  red  man  in  America. 

It  was  not  until  1880,  however,  that  Mrs.  Smith  was  ap- 
pointed as  a  scientific  explorer  (with  a  stated  annual  salary) 
for  the  Smithsonian  Institute  at  Washington,  and  detailed 
to  study  the  traits,  habits,  and  peculiarities  of  the  Six  Na- 
tions,—  composed  of  the  Tuscarora,  Mohawk,  Onondaga, 
Iroquois,  Oneida,  and  Seneca  tribes  of  Indians. 

At  intervals,  for  some  years,  she  resided  among  these 
Indians,  who,  although  dwelling  in  comfortable  houses,  have 
customs  practised  only  by  these  tribes,  many  of  which  cus- 
toms, when  with  them,  Mrs.  Smith  adopted.  She  lived,  ate, 
drank,  slept,  and  enjoyed  herself  as  they  did,  and  gradually 
learned  their  dialects,  until  she  had  gained  a  mastery  of  their 
language ;  but  to  continue  in  practice,  and  to  assist  in  com- 

5 


34  to  Memoriam. 

piling  the  dictionaries,  usually  had  one  or  two  Indians  liv- 
ing with  her,  and  so  endeared  herself  to  the  tribes  that  the 
Tuscaroras,  with  rites  and  ceremonies,  adopted  her  as  a 
daughter,  giving  her  the  name  Kd-tcf-tcts-td'-Kwtf st  (Ka- 
cheche-sta-quaws),  meaning  "  Beautiful  Flower." 

Beside  compiling  Indian  dictionaries,  she  contributed 
largely  to  various  scientific  journals,  and  lectured  exten- 
sively on  Indian  Culture  and  Ethics. 

Mrs.  Smith's  studies  embraced  not  only  mineralogy,  gem- 
cutting,  and  crystallography,  but  ethnology,  archaeology,  and 
anthropology  as  well. 

I  will  not  weary  you  by  giving  a  full  list  of  learned 
societies  of  which  Mrs.  Smith  was  an  honored  member. 
Unanimously  elected  honorary  member  of  the  British  Ar- 
chaeological Society,  she  was  also  a  member  of  the  similar 
society  in  America.  She  was  the  first  woman  elected  "  Fel- 
low "  of  the  "  New  York  Academy  of  Sciences,"  and  the 
only  woman  ever  appointed  an  officer  in  the  "  American 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,"  being,  at 
the  time  of  her  death,  Secretary  of  the  Section  of  Anthro- 
pology. 

In  1885  Governor  Abbett  appointed  Mrs.  Smith  "Com- 
missioner of  the  Department  of  Woman's  Work,"  to  represent 
the  State  of  New  Jersey  at  the  New  Orleans  Exposition. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Society  for  the  Advancement  of 
Science  at  Ann  Arbor,  in  August,  1885,  Mrs.  Smith  worked 
far  beyond  her  strength,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  the 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  35 

disease  that  was  so  soon  to  end  her  days.  When  remon- 
strated with  in  regard  to  the  completion  of  a  second  paper 
she  wished  to  present,  (on  the  ground  that  it  would  keep 
until  next  year,)  her  face  assumed  a  serious  and  earnest 
expression  as  she  replied,  "  I  never  leave  things  for  to- 
morrow. Now  is  my  word!  Next  year!  why,  who  knows 
what  may  be  before  next  year?"  Did  she  already  hear 
the  still,  small  voice  of  God  calling  her?  In  a  few  months 
the  summons  was  answered,  and  she  —  was  not ! 

During  this  Ann  Arbor  meeting,  Mrs.  Smith  was  the  guest 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Trowbridge  at  Detroit.  After  her  de- 
parture, they  found  she  had  left  as  a  souvenir  in  her  room 
a  satin  banner  with  these  words,  signally  in  keeping  with  the 
spirit  of  her  life :  - 

"  Sleep  sweet  within  this  quiet  room, 

Dear  friends  from  whom  I  part, 
And  let  no  mournful  yesterdays 

Disturb  thy  quiet  heart ; 
Nor  let  to-morrow  scare  thy  rest 

With  dreams  of  coming  ill. 
Thy  Maker  is  thy  changeless  friend, 

His  love  surrounds  thee  still. 
Forget  thyself  and  all  the  world  ; 

Put  out  each  feverish  light ; 
The  stars  are  watching  overhead ; 

Sleep  sweet !  good  night !  good  night !  " 

These  friends  never  met  again ;   it  was  the  last  good  night. 


36  In  Memoriam. 

It  may  be  said  that  Mrs.  Smith  died  in  harness ;  for  while 
reading  a  paper  on  "  The  Significance  of  Flora  to  the  Iro- 
quois,"  at  Sorosis,  a  severe  hemorrhage  rendered  her.  un- 
conscious. Her  illness  was  of  about  six  weeks  duration, 
commencing  with  hemorrhage  of  the  brain,  and  developing 
into  paralysis  of  the  heart,  while  she  seemed  merely  to  be 
living  upon  what  her  physician  described  as  her  determina- 
tion to  finish  her  book ;  for  almost  her  last  words  were,  "  If 
I  only  had  time  to  put  what  I  know  on  paper !  " 

She  was  then  engaged  in  completing  an  Iroquois  Dic- 
tionary, but  was  never  able  to  resume  work.  A  talented 
Indian,  whom  she  had  trained  to  be  her  assistant,  familiar 
with  her  plan,  is  now  employed  at  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology 
completing  the  unfinished  task. 

Such  was  \.\\e  public  life  of  the  woman  whose  memory  and 
good  works  we  would  perpetuate ;  but  who  can  do  justice  to 
the  private  life  and  womanliness  which  so  endeared  her  to 
her  friends? 

Mrs.  Smith  was  fair  of  complexion,  robust  in  figure  with- 
out superfluous  flesh,  and  of  medium  height  (looking  taller 
than  she  really  was).  She  dressed  in  perfect  taste,  and  one 
would  not  think  she  had  a  hobby,  unless  it  be  that  excusable 
in  the  mother  of  four  bright  boys.  Nothing  about  her  man- 
ner suggested  the  pedant,  although  she  stood  so  high  among 
the  scientific  people  of  the  world ;  for  in  the  social  circle  she 
never  obtruded  herself,  but  was  ever  retiring  and  modest. 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  37 

You  would  have  called  her  a  bright,  healthy,  pleasant  wo- 
man, and  felt  cheered  by  seeing  her;  but  could  you  draw 
her  into  conversation  would  have  found  her  one  of  the  most 
charming  and  entertaining  talkers,  and  could  not  fail  to 
be  impressed  with  the  earnestness,  amounting  to  enthu- 
siasm, which  was  magnetic  in  its  influence,  —  as  earnestness 
always  is. 

It  is  written  that  "  out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the 
mouth  speaketh."  Yet  there  are  feelings  too  deep  for  utter- 
ance, and  when  they  find  expression  in  words,  their  intensity 
is  past,  for,  at  the  best,  words  are  but  cold;  therefore  — 
"  Little  shall  I  grace  my  cause  in  speaking  for  myself,"  but 
will  present  the  expressions  of  others  more  skilled. 

Mrs.  CROLY,  Ex-President  of  Sorosis,  says :  — 
"  She  was  a  clear  and  captivating  speaker,  presenting  her 
subject  with  force  and  directness,  —  rising  often  into  elo- 
quence, but  never  sinking  below  the  high-water  mark  at 
which  she  invariably  held  the  closest  attention  of  her  audi- 
ence. Her  frankness  of  manner,  her  honesty,  her  unvarying 
cheerfulness,  were  as  characteristic  as  her  generosity  and 
kindness  of  heart. 

"  She  had  the  gift,  rare  among  men  or  women,  but  espe- 
cially among  women,  of  universality.  She  was  as  much  at 
home  with  the  prince  as  the  peasant,  with  the  most  distin- 
guished as  with  the  most  obscure,  and  she  valued  each  one 
for  what  she  found  in  him,  not  for  that  which  surrounded 
him. 


38  In  Memoriam. 

"  Of  herself  she  gave  freely,  without  thought  of  return, 
meeting  much  treachery  and  ingratitude,  but  also  drawing 
about  her  a  remarkable  circle,  and  adding  to  it  men  and 
women  of  distinction  from  abroad  as  well  as  at  home,  who 
added  their  notes  to  the  symposium  of  which  she  was  the 
inspiring  centre. 

"  Mrs.  Smith  was  a  woman  of  extraordinary  gifts  in  many 
different  directions,  for  with  all  her  talents  and  powers  of 
mind  no  more  loving  wife  and  mother,  no  truer  or  more 
devoted  friend,  ever  lived.  Those  who  knew  her  best  and 
were  most  intimately  associated  with  her  know  well  how 
impossible  it  will  be  to  replace  the  bright  mind,  the  warm 
heart,  the  sympathy  with  all  that  was  noble,  the  scorn  of  all 
that  was  despicable." 

At  the  Ann  Arbor  Reception,  Professor  W.  C.  RICHARDS, 
Doctor  of  Philosophy,  breaks  into  verse :  — 

To-night,  far  down  the  nineteenth  century, 
We,  in  the  name  of  Science,  gather  here 
To  mark  her  sweep  and  scope  so  far  and  free, 
And  cast  her  horoscope  with  vision  clear,  — 

Homage  with  warm  and  willing  breath  to  bring 
To  one  who  in  her  happy  self  combines 
Science  and  soul.     O  how  your  bard  might  sing, 
Could  he  but  fuse  their  fervor  in  his  lines  ! 

Our  honored  guest,  from  childhood  to  this  hour, 
Has  humbly  lain  at  generous  Nature's  feet, 
Toyed  with  her  charms,  thrilled  with  her  mystic  power, 
And  from  her  lips  drawn  lessons  pure  and  sweet. 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  39 

By  field  and  copse,  by  woodland,  vale,  and  rill, 
She  sipped  the  wine  of  science  with  delight ; 
With  its  rich  draughts,  our  little  cups  we  fill 
From  her  brimmed  beakers,  poured  for  us  to-night. 

Our  little  cups  we  lift,  we  touch,  we  drain 
In  her  applause,  and  thank  her  for  her  wine  ; 
A  woman  we  were  proud  to  meet  again,  — 
Mistress  of  Sciences,  not  one,  but  nine. 

Self-taught  in  Indian  language,  as  her  own  — 
Or  Europe's  polished  speech  —  she  brings  to  book 
Strange  Tuscarora  dialects,  —  task  alone 
For  whose  eclipse  in  skill  we  vainly  look. 

A  true  Cornelia  to  her  sons  —  she  led 
Their  feet  to  Wisdom's  wells,  and  with  them  drank ; 
By  her  own  zest  their  thirst  she  fired  and  fed, 
Nor  let  their  mental  grip  her  own  outrank. 

Hail,  model  mother  !  noble  scholar,  hail ! 
Thou  real  Minerva  of  our  modern  days, 
Long  be  it,  ere  thy  strength  and  zeal  shall  fail ; 
And  long  —  thy  growing  honors  ours  to  praise. 


Major  POWELL,  Superintendent  of  the  Bureau  of  Eth- 
nology, when  told  a  monument  was  to  be  erected  to  her, 
exclaimed :  "  Mrs.  Smith  has  a  monument  more  enduring 
in  her  books,  —  valuable  now,  they  will  be  invaluable  to 
those  who  come  after  her." 


40  ht  Memoriam. 

"  She  was  as  merry,  sunny,  and  unaffected  as  if  she  had 
not  pursued  studies  which,"  Horatio  Hale  said,  "  in  Indian- 
ology  alette  would  make  any  man  famous." 

But  listen  to  the  voice  of  her  pastor,  the  Rev.  Dr.  DlIRYEE, 
that  man  of  God  who  had  known  her  well  for  fifteen  years, 
and  from  whose  eyes  rolled  the  big  tears  as,  in  voice  broken 
by  grief,  he  delivered  her  funeral  oration.  He  says :  — 

*'  Mrs.  Smith  was  my  persona]  friend.  To  me  she  came  in 
her  troubles  and  her  joys,  and  we  had  many  talks  upon  that 
faith  in  Jesus  which  is  the  stay  of  the  Christian.  Just  before 
her  death,  I  took  her  hand  and  asked  her  if  she  believed. 
She  replied,  'that,  although  she  had  entertained  doubts  at 
times,  all  had  been  removed,  and  she  was  firm  in  the  faith.' 

"  She  has  never  refused  to  participate  in  a  good  work.  In 
all  my  conversations  with  her,  sometimes  lasting  for  hours 
at  a  time,  I  have  known  her  to  speak  but  once  in  a  harsh, 
and  certainly  never  in  an  unkindly  manner,  of  any  person. 

"She  would  come  to  me  for  sympathy  and  counsel,  and 
little  knew  she  gave  more  than  she  received ;  for  her  hope- 
fulness and  patience  would  renew  my  strength  in  the  work 
for  Christ. 

"  At  one  time  she  said  to  me,  '  God  has  given  me  gifts, 
which  I  intend  to  use  in  the  greatest  measure  to  lift  myself 
and  others  to  a  higher  degree  of  knowledge/  Brilliant,  tal- 
ented, and  generous,  she  had  no  serious  faults.  I  believe,  in 
saying  so,  I  but  voice  the  echo  of  the  hearts  of  one  of  die 
widest  circles  of  friendship  woman  has  ever  known." 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smitb.  41 

Mr.  PRESIDENT,  —  As  the  representative  of  that  wide 
circle  of  friendship,  and  in  the  presence  of  delegates  from 
some  of  the  Societies,  while  presenting  to  you  this  check 
and  legal  document,  I  have  a  request  to  make.  Will  you 
kindly  grant  a  place  upon  the  walls  of  this  beautiful  College, 
on  which  shall  rest  this  portrait  of  our  friend  now  presented  ? 
If  after  going  hence  we  are  permitted  to  look  upon  the 
scenes  of  earth,  it  will  make  her  happy  to  look  upon  the 
bright,  studious  faces,  and  to  be  surrounded  by  the  warm 
hearts  of  young  women,  as  when  in  life  they  sought  her. 
Do  not  give  it  place  alone  for  the  value  of  the  services  ren- 
dered by  her  to  the  cause  of  science,  and  your  appreciation 
of  the  example  she  set  to  her  fellow  women  of  America  by 
devoting  her  life  so  largely  to  the  field  of  scientific  research ; 
but  more  especially  take  to  heart  the  influence  she  exerted 
over  the  young  girls  and  women  in  elevating  their  minds 
and  directing  them  in  the  search  for  the  true,  noble,  and 
good,  so  that  the  "  Smith  Prize "  may  carry  with  it,  in  the 
memory  of  its  winners,  the  loving  face  of  her  to  whom  it  is 
a  lasting  monument 

In  thanking  you  for  your  kind  attention,  and  before  saying 
farewell,  permit  me  to  repeat  the  poem,  composed  and  read 
by  Dr.  Duryee  at  Mrs,  Smith's  funeral. 

We  mourn  not  those  who  drink  Life's  genial  wine, 
And  while  their  pulses  feel  the  warmest  thrill 
Lay  down  the  goblet  at  a  call  divine 
For  richer  feasts  —  which  nobler  longings  fill. 
6 


42  In  Memoriam. 

Nor  tears  for  those  who,  like  the  guarded  flowers 
When  deepest  hued,  are  from  companions  torn, 
As  walks  the  Master  in  his  loving  hours 
Seeking  the  rare  which  may  His  home  adorn. 

We  weep  not  when  with  sudden  wrench  the  gem 

Is  from  unseemly  setting  forced  apart, 

To  sparkle  on  a  monarch's  diadem, 

Or  flash  its  rays  on  Love's  delighted  heart. 

But  constant  tears  for  those  who  here  must  quaff 
Life's  bitter  dregs,  or,  fading  long,  must  stay 
To  meet  the  Winter,  while  with  scornful  laugh 
A  mocking  world  sweeps  by  upon  the  way. 

Not  thee  we  mourn,  O  friend  !  as  fall  our  tears, 
Thine  is  the  rest,  the  glory,  and  the  gain ; 
We  grieve  that  we,  more  lonely,  walk  the  years 
And  weaker  turn  to  earthly  toil  and  pain. 

But  brighter  are  the  skies  since  thou  art  there, 
Warmer  the  welcome  —  after  parting  tears. 
The  farewell  that  we  breathe  uplifts  the  prayer 
That  soon  may  dawn  for  us  God's  golden  years. 


APPENDIX. 


group  on  the  opposite  page  comprises  all  but  five  of 
the  officers  of  the  Ann  Arbor  Meeting  of  the  American 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science  held  August, 
1885.  Resolving  the  group  into  two  lines,  standing  and  sit- 
ting, for  convenience,  and  beginning  with  those  seated,  pass- 
ing from  the  bottom  to  the  top  of  the  page,  we  have,  — 

Permanent  Secretary,    .     .  Prof.  F.  W.  PUTNAM,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
General  Secretary,     .     .     .  Dr.  C.  S.  MINOT,  Boston,  Mass. 
Past-President,    ....  Dr.  T.  STERRY  HUNT,  Montreal,  Canada. 

President, Prof.  H.  A.  NEWTON,  New  Haven,  Conn. 

Past-President,     ....  Prof.  JAMES  HALL,  Albany,  N.  Y. 
Secretary  of  Section  G,       .  Mr.  W.  H.  WALMSLEY,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

"      H, .     .  Mrs.  ERMINNIE  A.  SMITH,  Jersey  City,  N.  J. 

"      D, .     .  Mr.  C.  J.  H.  WOODBURY,  Boston,  Mass. 

Those  in  the  standing  line,  taken  in  the  same  order  are  :  — 

Vice-P resident  of  Section  I,  Mr.  EDWARD  ATKINSON,  Boston,  Mass. 

Secretary  of  "  C,  Prof.  F.  P.  DUNNINGTON,  University  of  Va. 

Vice- President  of      "  C,  Prof.  N.  T.  LUPTON,  Nashville,  Tenn. 

Vice-President  of      "  A,  Prof.  WM.  HARKNESS,  Washington,  D.C. 

Secretary  of  "  A,  Prof.  E.  W.  HYDE,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

Vice-President  of      "  D,  Prof.  J.  BURKETT  WEBB,  Ithaca,  N.  Y. 

Secretary  of  "  /,  Mr.  C.  W.  SMILEY,  Washington,  D.C. 

Vice- President  of      "  G,  Prof.  S.  H.  SAGE,  Ithaca,  N.  Y. 

"  //,  Rev.  J.  OWEN  DORSEY,  Washington,  D.C. 

"  F,  Prof.  T.  J.  BURRILL,  Champaign,  111. 

Secretary  of  "  F,  Prof.  J.  A.  LINTNER,  Albany,  N.  Y. 


44  In  Memoriam. 

The  officers  not  included  were  unable  to  attend  at  the  hour 
appointed,  owing  to  other  engagements. 

It  is  with  pleasure  I  make  acknowledgment  to  Major  J.  W. 
Powell,  Director  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  and  to  Prof. 
F.  W.  Putnam  of  the  Peabody  Institute,  —  the  Perpetual 
Secretary  of  the  "  American  Association  for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Science,"  —  for  their  kind  assistance  ;  and  particu- 
larly to  Mr.  Eugene  M.  Smith  (Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith's 
youngest  son),  who,  having  possession  of  his  mother's  manu- 
scripts and  notes,  generously  placed  them  at  my  disposal. 

The  results  of  Mrs.  Smith's  labors  may  be  found  in  her 
Dictionaries,  and  at  the  Smithsonian  Institute.  The  papers 
here  presented  were  intended  for  the  ^Esthetic  meetings, 
and  occasionally  read  elsewhere,  and  although  prepared  with 
her  usual  care,  were  somewhat  of  a  pastime  ;  for  with  this 
Society  she  sought  relaxation  from  her  more  serious  duties, 
and  in  imparting  to  her  "  Daughters "  the  knowledge  she 
so  readily  acquired,  found  the  rest  she  so  much  needed. 
The  article  entitled  "The  Significance  of  Flora  to  the  Iro- 
quois,"  will  have  an  additional  interest  from  being  the  paper 
she  was  reading  to  Sorosis  when  touched  by  the  hand  of 
death. 

This  memorial  being  a  "  love-token,"  the  beautiful  woman- 
liness of  Mrs.  Smith's  character  and  social  life  is  delineated 
rather  than  that  of  the  scientist  —  save  as  the  two  blended ; 
—  and  those  who  would  have  other  particulars,  are  referred 
to  Appleton's  Annual  Cyclopaedia  for  1886,  and  the  Cyclo- 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  45 

paedia  of  American  Biography,  where  among  people  of  note 
Mrs.  Smith  takes  her  proper  position  as  belonging  to  sci- 
ence, and  where  the  statistics  of  her  birth,  life,  works,  and 
death  are  ably  tabulated.  There,  however,  they  will  be  con- 
fronted by  the  statement  that  Mrs.  Smith  was  born  in  1836, 
while  herein  her  birth  is  stated  as  having  occurred  in  1837. 
The  eminent  encyclopaecfist  prepared  the  sketches  under  diffi- 
culties, and  undoubtedly  with  great  care,  so  that  it  is  with 
reluctance  this  correction  is  made ;  but  as  it  comes  directly 
from  Mrs.  Smith's  family  and  her  sister,  Mrs.  Little,  of 
Ravenswood,  111.,  this  date  should  be  considered  reliable. 

Mrs.  Smith's  particular  branch  of  Indianology  was  a  thor- 
ough study  of  the  language  and  folk-lore  of  the  Iroquois 
Indians,  better  known  as  the  Six  Nations,  who  have  become 
widely  dispersed.  The  Tuscaroras  are  at  Lewiston,  N.  Y. ; 
the  Senecas,  at  Cattaraugus,  near  Buffalo,  N.  Y. ;  the  Oneidas 
are  separated,  some  being  at  Oneida,  N.  Y.,  (where  the  res- 
ervation is  practically  destroyed,)  at  Green  Bay,  Wis.,  and 
at  St.  Thomas,  Canada  ;  the  Cayugas  are  scattered  among 
the  other  tribes  ;  the  Mohawks  are  in  Canada,  as  they  fol- 
lowed the  fortunes  of  the  British  after  the  Revolution ;  and 
the  Onondagas  are  at  their  reservation  near  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

She  was  peculiarly  fitted  for  this  task,  having  been  born 
and  brought  up  within  three  miles  of  this  last  reservation. 
In  fact,  she  almost  grew  up  with  them,  associated  with  the 
Indian  children,  learned  something  of  their  language,  and 
occasionally  attended  their  celebrations  and  dances ;  but  of 


46  In  Memoriam. 

late  years  her  time  has  been  principally  devoted  to  the 
Tuscaroras,  as  heretofore  least  has  been  known  about  that 
tribe.  Besides  passing  the  summers  with  the  tribes,  and 
taking  constant  charge  of  two  or  three  Indians  that  she 
might  become  sooner  acquainted  with  their  habits  and 
dialects,  the  chief  interpreter  of  the  Six  Nations,  the  inter- 
preter for  the  Canadian  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs, 
many  head  chiefs,  and  a  number  of  the  most  intelligent  and 
best  educated  Indians  were  frequently  at  her  home.  Mrs. 
Smith  was  full  of  interesting  reminiscences  of  her  life  in  the 
forest,  and  had  a  profound  belief  in  and  affection  for  the 
Indian'  people,  asserting  that  among  the  Tuscaroras  were 
some  legendary  traces  of  their  Asiatic  origin,  and  intended 
after  her  duties  for  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  were  completed 
to  follow  up  and  develop  these  clues. 

Although  through  the  Indians, — according  to  a  poem  read 
before  the  ^Esthetic  Society,  — 

"  Broken  on  progression's  wheel, 
Converted  at  the  point  of  steel, 
And  fed  on  ruin,  rum,  and  rapine, 
Horrid  deeds  of  vengeance  happen, 
At  which  we  lift  white  hands  of  wonder, 
And  sigh  and  legislate  —  and  plunder  /"  — 

yet  these  tribes  had  such  faith  in  her  that  she  acquired 
over  them  considerable  influence,  for  (as  the  poem  continues) 
she  — 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  47 

"  Gained  their  thoughts,  and  then  their  fancy  ; 
Till,  by  loving  necromancy, 
Her  thousand  deeds  of  noiseless  worth, 
Like  good  seeds  hid  in  the  silent  earth 
Bedewed  with  tears  in  grateful  showers, 
Do  fructify  in  fourfold  flowers ; 
That  even  the  dusky  Indian  chief, 
Who,  brooding  o'er  his  dark  belief, 
Asks  bitterly  the  bitter  question,  — 
'  Is  robber  synonym  for  Christian  ?  ' 
Why  !  he  will  turn  to  her  and  listen 
With  softened  face  and  eyes  that  glisten  ; 
And  her  wise  words  and  silken  speech, 
Far  deeper  than  loud  sermons  reach." 

The  following  letter  will  show  how  Mrs.  Smith's  Chris- 
tian influence  was  felt  by  one  of  the  Indians  who  resided 
with  her. 

BUREAU  OF  ETHNOLOGY,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C., 
March  15,  1890. 

MRS.  SARA  L.  LEE, 

The  Brunswick,  Boston,  Mass. 

DEAR  MADAM,  —  In  a  letter  to  Major  J.  W.  Powell,  Director  of 
the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey  and  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  you  express  the  desire  that  I  should  write 
you  a  letter  containing  some  reminiscences  of  Mrs.  Erminnie  A. 
Smith. 

To  comply  with  the  wish  thus  expressed  is  both  a  duty  I  owe  to 
the  memory  of  Mrs.  Smith,  and  a  pleasure  to  me  who  was  for  more 
than  six  years  so  closely  and  confidentially  connected  with  her  in  the 
capacity  of  amanuensis,  and  assistant  in  all  her  Indian  work. 


48  In  Memoriam. 

It  was  in  May,  1880,  that  I  first  had  the  pleasure  of  making  the 
acquaintance  of  Mrs.  Smith.  She  had  come  to  the  Tuskarora  Reser- 
vation to  study  the  language,  customs,  and  myths  of  this  people. 

Learning  that  I  was  conversant  with  the  Iroquoian  tongues,  she  at 
once  engaged  me  to  assist  her  in  making  investigations  in  the  line  of 
her  work. 

The  Tuskaroras,  one  and  all,  were  captivated  by  Mrs.  Smith's 
womanly  kindness,  intelligence,  tact,  and  nobleness  of  soul.  During 
the  first  week  of  her  stay  on  this  Reservation,  she  was  serenaded 
at  her  stopping  place,  first  by  one,  then  by  the  other,  of  the  two 
Cornet  Bands  on  the  Reservation.  On  one  of  these  occasions,  at 
which  over  two  hundred  of  Tuskaroras  were  present,  Mrs.  Smith,  with 
appropriate  ceremonies,  was  adopted  into  the  White  Bear  Gens  of  the 
tribe,  being  by  adoption  made  the  sister  of  the  venerable  Head  Chief, 
John  Mountpleasant,  at  whose  hospitable  house  she  was  a  guest. 
Her  name  of  adoption,  which  of  course  is  hereditary  in  this  gens 
only,  was  Ka-tcf-tcis-ta'-kwa'st,  "  The  Beautiful  Flower."  The  be- 
stowal of  this  name  was  intended  to  express  the  high  esteem  and 
sincere  regard  in  which  she  was  held  by  the  tribe. 

When  Mrs.  Smith  completed  her  season's  work  on  this  Reservation, 
she  engaged  me  to  travel  with  her  on  all  of  the  principal  Iroquois 
Reservations  in  New  York  State  and  Canada. 

From  this  Reservation  our  first  visit  was  made  to  the  Senecas  on 
the  Cattaraugus  Reservation  in  Western  New  York.  Then  we  went 
to  the  Grand  River  Reservation  in  Canada,  where  remnants  of  the 
Six  Nations  now  reside,  and  in  after  years  various  other  Reservations 
were  visited.  On  all  of  these  the  same  welcome  for  and  appreciation 
of  the  charming  and  noble-hearted  woman  were  manifested  by  the 
Indians,  who  were  always  ready  and  willing  to  assist  her. 

The  peculiar  and  unwritten  phonology,  the  vast  and  complex  sys- 
tems of  verbal  and  nominal  conjugations,  and  the  polysyllabic  and 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  49 

polysynthetic  word-forms,  common  to  the  grammar  of  these  tongues, 
are  obstacles  to  the  knowledge  and  acquirement  of  these  languages 
which  would  have  daunted  a  less  brave,  earnest,  and  gifted  scholar. 

Mrs.  Smith  had  set  herself  no  less  a  task  than  to  collect  sufficient 
linguistic  material  to  enable  her  to  master  these  languages,  with  all 
their  wealth  of  forms  and  peculiarities.  The  measure  of  her  success 
in  this  undertaking  is  to  be  estimated  by  the  numerous  linguistic  and 
other  manuscripts  and  publications  which  have  emanated  from  her 
versatile  pen.  As  a  part  of  this  undertaking,  Mrs.  Smith  collected  a 
vast  amount  of  material  preparatory  to  the  compilation  of  nothing  less 
than  a  grammar  and  a  dictionary  of  the  Tuskarora  tongue.  One  less 
gifted  and  less  devoted  to  the  interests  of  science  and  truth  than 
she,  might  well  hesitate  before  beginning  either  of  these  works  ;  but, 
alas  !  ere  she  had  the  long-cherished  pleasure  of  completing  them, 
the  Divine  Father  called  her  to  rest. 

In  the  six  years  of  our  confidential  relations,  this  noble  woman 
never  uttered  one  harsh  or  unkind  word  of  reproof  to  me,  whatever 
may  have  been  her  provocation  so  to  do ;  but  among  her  thousand 
cares  and  anxieties  she  was  always  the  kind-hearted  friend,  with  an 
ennobling  and  womanly  soul  radiant  with  hope  and  faith  in  a  blessed 
immortality. 

Yours  with  respect, 

J.    W.    B.    HEWITT,1 

Ethnologist. 

1  Tuskaroran  name,  Nd-ka-yen'-t?^,  referring  to  the  branched  antlers  of  the 
buck  of  the  fallen  deer,  and  one  of  the  hereditary  sachem  names  in  the  White 
Bear  Gens  of  the  Tuskaroras. 


THE  CUSTOMS  AND  THE  LANGUAGE 
OF  THE  IROQUOIS. 


T7ROM  the  days  of  the  early  Jesuit  Fathers  to  the  present 
•*-  time,  the  general  history  and  customs  of  the  Iroquois 
tribes  have  been  so  faithfully  chronicled  that  I  may  be  par- 
doned if  I  present  these  people  to  you  to-day  only  through 
their  own  medium  of  thought,  —  their  language. 

It  has  been  said,  "A  dead  language  is  full  of  all  monu- 
mental remembrances  of  the  people  who  spoke  it.  Their 
swords  and  their  shields  are  in  it;  their  faces  are  pictured 
on  its  walls,  and  their  very  voices  sing  still  through  its 
recesses." 

While  the  above  has  special  reference  to  languages  which 
have  left  a  written  record,  it  applies  with  even  greater  force 
to  our  aboriginal  tongues,  in  which  nearly  every  word  con- 
tains its  own  little  legend.  Extremely  interesting  and 
important  is  the  word-study  of  the  Iroquois  dialects,  and 
through  this  study  alone  can  we  arrive  at  a  correct  knowl- 
edge of  the  people  who  used  them. 

Vocabularies  giving  a  general  interpretation  are  useless  in 
comparison  with  a  list  of  dissected  words  containing  original 
Indian  thought  and  Indian  etymology. 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  51 

Much  time,  I  regret  to  say,  has  been  lost  by  those  who 
have  analyzed  these  words  simply  to  trace  their  resemblance 
to  words  from  Oriental  families.  Concerning  this  branch  of 
investigation,  I  will  venture  to  quote  the  conclusion  of  the 
celebrated  etymologist,  Skeat :  "  Mere  resemblance  of  form 
and  apparent  connection  in  sense  between  languages  which 
have  different  phonetic  laws  or  no  necessary  connection  are 
commonly  a  delusion,  and  not  to  be  regarded."  A  closer 
study  of  these  dialects  proves,  in  most  instances,  the  fallacy 
of  striving  to  trace  such  analogies  ;  e.  g.,  in  a  late  work  the 
Iroquois  word  eh-ta-ke,  lit.  "on  earth,"  is  compared  with 
roots  from  tongues  very  far  apart  said  to  signify  "  inferior." 
The  Iroquois  word  in  its  applied  sense  means  "  down,"  and 
in  its  literal,  "  on  earth,"  —  from  o-he-td,  field,  earth,  and  ke, 
on,  —  o-he-ta-ke,  "  on  earth  ; "  in  no  sense  does  it  signify  "  in- 
ferior." Again,  Professor  Skeat  says,  "  The  whole  of  a  word, 
and  not  a  portion  only,  ought  to  be  reasonably  accounted 
for."  In  nearly  all  Iroquois  work  we  find  an  almost  total 
disregard  of  this  important  rule.  Even  Pere  Cuoq,  who  has 
done  so  much  through  his  publications,  fails  in  his  Lexique, 
under  the  portion  "  Racines  Iroquoises,"  to  explain  why  he 
retains  the  incorporated  pronouns  and  prepositions  in  the 
list  of  roots.  Why  not  call  them  "  words,"  and  not  "  Iroquois 
roots "  ?  And  when  these  pronouns  are  dropped  in  com- 
position, why  not  explain  that  fact  ?  Why  should  he  in  the 
the  verb  I-kcks,  "  I  eat,"  say  that  the  first  k  is  servile,  instead 


52  In  Memoriam. 

of  calling  it  the  first  personal  pronoun  ?  In  Bruyas's  Dic- 
tionary, also,  we  find  that  when  roots  are  given  they  are  not 
separated  from  their  pronouns,  nor  oftentimes  from  their 
tense  signs.  In  the  Dictionary  of  Pere  Marcoux  he  has  given 
as  the  root  the  third  person  singular  of  the  Indicative,  but 
neither  of  the  authors  above  referred  to  has  adhered  to  any 
such  rule. 

The  literal  meaning  of  many  Iroquois  nouns  is  extremely 
interesting.  The  names  of  animals  in  very  many  cases 
refer  to  some  peculiarity  of  the  object.  The  rabbit,  Te-yo- 
hon-ta-ne-ken-ha,  "  It  has  two  little  ears  together,"  alludes 
probably  to  the  fact  that  when  running  the  animal  keeps  its 
ears  thrown  backward  and  close  together. 

Te-yo-ti-nd- kd-es . 


ox 

It  has  (two)  long  horns. 

(  Te-yon-nhos-kwaint. 

A  cow < 

(  It  is  pouch-mouthed. 

Rhu-^unn-' rhu^rit. 


Rattlesnake 

He  has  to  him  a  tassel. 

(  Rhu- skwa -nan . 

Snake     

f  He  squirms. 

(  Te-wd-hon" -tes . 

Mule 

(.  It  is  long-eared. 

Lizard Td-tis'-td-tis,  its  note. 

Wd$'-kwd-rhu. 

immerses  its  mouth  (lips). 
(  Te-yo-ti-nd-kd-ron-ton-hd . 
\  They  have  two  little  horns. 


/  Wd 
H°g {iti, 

Sheep 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  53 

The  goat  and  some  other  animals  are  named  from  their 
odor.  Birds  generally  from  their  note  ;  as,  the  yellow-bird, 
kd-tci-kd-u\  the  whip-poor-will,  kwaF-kurh-yc!'1*.  The 
oriole  is  called  tcd-kwi-yu,  meaning  "  large-thighed  ; "  and 
the  goose,  wti-te-ma"n-ny&ks,  "  It  breaks  its  voice."  Nearly 
all  trees  are  named  from  some  quality :  — 

(  Wa-rh£n-nd-tcunn-wd'-ti. 

Buttonwood 

(  It  is  a  self-smoothing  tree. 

(  Wdt-u"*-rhunn'-ih-tha. 

Poplar \  _        .        .     . 

(  It  swings  its  leaves. 

'd-  wa"-rhyds-  kd"-rh  u"n. 


Alder 

(  It  is  hollow-hearted. 

(  Rhuhs-na"-'ya"nc. 

Ironwood - 

(.  He  is  becoming  lean. 

Tears  translate  as  "  eye-juice,"  sugar  as  "  tree-juice."  The 
feelings  and  passions  are  even  more  strikingly  descriptive : 

(  Rhu-lu"-nha"-kdrh-'ya"n. 
He  is  in  agony     .     .     .    \  ...,.<• 

(  He  eats  his  life. 

A  thing  that  is  wonderful  is  "  scalp-raising ; "  anything 
tempting,  alluring,  or  captivating,  is  said  to  "  unhook  the 
mind." 

Many  homonyms  occur,  and  some  cause  can  generally  be 
discovered  to  account  for  them,  as  in  the  case  of  the  word 
"  dandelion,"  which  is  the  same  as  that  for  "  sturgeon  ; "  for 
when  the  flower  makes  its  appearance  in  the  spring,  it  is  the 
sign  for  the  Tuscarora  to  take  down  his  spear  and  go  to  the 
capture  of  the  sturgeon.  The  word  Rhu-na-  kiinnt,  "  wood- 


54  In  Memoriam. 

chuck,"  is  applied  to  the  Irishman,  who,  through  Central  New 
York,  was  first  seen  engaged  in  digging  canals  and  throwing 
up  earth  for  railway  embankments.  The  interpreter  for  a 
person,  or  for  a  tribe,  is  sometimes  called  "  Ear."  Different 
peoples  are  named  after  the  same  fashion.  The  English, 
who  were  first  seen  coming  from  the  direction  of  the  dawn, 
received  that  name  with  the  suffix  -&-k<ty  which  may  be  inter- 
preted ites ;  whence  we  have,  — 

Nyurh-hu* 'f '-aka\  It  dawns-ites. 

The  first  regular  hatchets  were  imported  by  the  French, 
and  furnished  the  name  "axe-makers"  to  the  people  who 
bought  them.  The  word  Boston,  which  the  Iroquois 
softened  into  Wds-lfi?  t  plays  no  mean  role  in  Iroquois 
nomenclature.  As  Boston  in  the  early  days  was  an  impor- 
tant rallying  place  for  those  Americans  who  first  became 
identified  as  a  nation,  the  Iroquois  .added  to  Wds-lff*  the 
d'-k£,  which  gives  us  Wds-l$Ci-&'-ka ,  or  Bostonites,  which 
thereafter  represented  to  them  the  whole  American  people. 
The  most  important  of  all  the  dissectible  or  connotive  words 
are  those  in  which  we  find  buried  an  extinct  custom.  Of 
such  we  have  the  word  for  hunting-dress,  ya"n-nya"n-td- 
rhti?-kw$ ,  "  what  she  puts  on  wood,"  from  o-ya"*-t£,  wood, 
and  Rhu-rhfi'0-,  "  He  is  arrayed  in ; "  this  alludes,  no  doubt, 
to  the  skeleton  framework  of  wood  worn  by  the  hunter,  over 
which  he  could  throw  the  skin  of  whatever  animal  he  wished 
to  imitate,  as  he  went  forth  with  his  concealed  bow  and 
arrows  to  the  chase. 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith .  55 

Another  study  is  the  Tuscarora,  or  rather  Turquois,  word 
for  "  warrior,"  which  analyzed  yields  "  bone-bearer."  What 
may  this  signify  ?  The  Indians  can  no  longer  give  an  expla- 
nation. The  word  has  become  simply  denotive.  We  can 
only  surmise.  Did  the  warriors  of  that  olden  time  bear 
away  from  their  conflicts  the  bones  of  their  fallen  comrades  ? 
Or  did  they  superstitiously  carry  about  themselves  some 
charmed  bone  to  insure  their  victory  ? l 

Another  suggestive  word  is  the  one  for  burial-ground, — 

Wd-'nunn-nun-frhun'ni  They  are  sunk  as  to  their  trunks,  — 

implying  the  sitting  posture  as  the  manner  of  burial.  I 
might  continue  enumerating  such  modern  words  as, — 

Whiskey, Deformed  liquid, 

Brandy, Real  medicine, 

and  the  word  for  renown,  which  is,  in  one  of  the  dialects,  the 
note  of  a  bird  which  is  constantly  calling.  But  I  will  pass 
on  to  a  short  study  concerning  the  pronouns  in  Iroquois,  in 
the  hope  of  obtaining  an  intelligent  opinion  upon  certain 
points  where  I  have  ventured  to  differ  from  accepted  forms. 
Allow  me  here  to  observe,  that  I  had  already  compiled 
chrestomathies  in  four  of  these  dialects  before  having  seen 
any  of  the  valuable  contributions  of  the  French  missionaries 
to  this  branch  of  Indian  linguistics. 


1  Since  this  paper  was  written  and  read,  Mr.  Gushing  has  explained  that  it  is 
still  the  custom  among  some  Western  tribes  for  the  warriors  to  scrape  the  bones 
of  their  slain,  and  carry  them  home  for  burial. 


56  In  Memoriam. 

Two  years  since,  when  at  Caughnawaga,  I  obtained, 
through  the  courtesy  of  the  Rev.  Father  Antoine,  the  Supe- 
rior of  the  Order  Oblat,  and  the  most  obliging  missionary, 
Pere  Burtin,  both  celebrated  Mohawk  scholars,  access  to 
the  invaluable  Dictionary  and  Grammar  of  the  late  Pere 
Marcoux,  which  books  belong  to  the  Mission.  Upon  exami- 
nation of  this  Grammar,  I  perceived  that  our  principal  point 
of  difference  was  in  the  use  of  the  pronouns,  or  rather  in 
their  distribution  or  nomenclature.  The  Mohawk  Grammar 
of  Pere  Marcoux  follows  the  division  made  of  that  dialect  by 
the  early  French  Jesuits  into  two  genders,  a  noble  and  an 
ignoble, — a  division  of  course  necessitating  a  corresponding 
classification  of  the  pronouns,  which,  however  much  it  might 
facilitate  a  knowledge  of  the  Iroquois  to  their  own  country- 
men, would  be  folly  for  us  to  accept  as  a  model  for  English 
students.  The  noble,  or  masculine,  gender  of  these  pioneers 
included  men,  angels,  and  God ;  the  ignoble,  or  feminine, 
included  Satan,  demons,  evil  spirits,  animals  both  male  and 
female,  things,  and  women.  Modelled  as  nearly  as  possible 
after  the  French,  and  with  this  sweeping  feminine  gender, 
there  was  consequently  no  use  for  an  //,  which  is  not  made  to 
appear,  but  the  indeterminate  on  of  the  French  finds  a  place. 

Mr.  Hale,  who  has  followed  this  classification,  expressly 
says,  "  There  is  no  neuter  form  in  these  dialects,"  etc. 
Against  such  weighty  opponents  my  simple  assertion  would 
count  for  very  little ;  I  will  therefore  present  my  reasons  for 
assuming  my  position. 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  57 

The  use  of  the  pronouns  and  their  relations  to  one  another 
may  be  considered  as  the  greatest  difficulties  which  the 
student  of  the  Iroquois  dialects  has  to  encounter.  The 
peculiarity  of  different  words  requiring  unlike  pronouns  for 
the  same  person  and  number,  and  the  great  number  of  these 
arbitrarily  used  pronouns,  have  undoubtedly  greatly  puzzled 
most  pioneers  in  Indian  languages.  Instead  of  the  two  gen- 
ders "noble"  and  "ignoble,"  we  find  in  these  dialects  the 
masculine,  the  feminine,  and  the  neuter  genders,  —  three 
instead  of  two.  The  simple  proclitic  pronouns  of  the  third 
person  singular  are  the  only  words  of  the  singular  number 
that  specify  the  gender  of  the  objects  to  which  they  refer. 

The  simple  third  person  masculine  (he)  has  one  form  of 
the  prefixive  pronoun.  It  is  always  incorporated,  and  in 
Tuscarora  it  is  r/id-t  which,  in  some  of  the  dialects,  is  aspi- 
rated into  ha-.  The  sound  rh-  is  a  simple  trill  of  the  tongue ; 
hence  rha-  is  nearly  equivalent  to  r-r-r-d,  or  r-r-hd,  or  hd-. 

The  simple  third  person  feminine  (she)  has  three  forms, 
ydk,  K-,yc->  or  yd- ;  these  are  always  found  incorporated. 

The  simple  third  person  neuter  also  has  three,  wd-,  kd-t 
•yo-,  or  yu-,  which  are  also  always  incorporated. 

The  indeterminate  or  indefinite  pronoun  is  expressed 
separately,  is  indeclinable,  and  is  never  compounded  with 
verbs,  or  their  equivalents.  The  Tuscarora  Sd-kd-na  is 
equivalent  to,  or  is  an  exact  synonym  of,  the  Mohawk  oti'-ka, 
some  one,  somebody.  This  pronoun  in  the  singular,  when 
followed  by  its  verb,  which  has  no  incorporated  objective 

8 


58  In  Mentor  iam. 

personal  pronoun,  expresses  its  gender  through  the  verb's 
incorporated  nominative  ;  as,  "  Some  one  works "  becomes 
"Some  one,  he,  or  she,  works,"  thus:  — 

Sd-kd"-na  rhu-yu-na  .  .  .  Some  one,  he  knows. 
Sd-kd"-na  kd-yu-na  .  .  .  Some  one,  she  works. 
Std-d-wu^n -ta  yu-yu-na  .  .  Some//fo'«£",  it  works. 

The  last  form  is  used  in  speaking  of  animals  or  senseless 
things,  but  never  when  speaking  of  persons.  The  following 
are  examples  of  the  preceding  rule,  taken  from  the  Mohawk 
dialect :  — 

O-thd-non  wd-tho' -rate    .     .     .  Something,  it  makes  cold. 

On-kd  ok  Rd-non'-wes     .     .     .  Some  one,  he  likes. 

On-kd-ok  ye-non'-wes  ....  Some  one,  she  likes. 

O-the-non  kd-non'-wes     .     ,     .  Something,  it  likes. 

On-kd  Rd-tkdh'-tos     ....  Some  one,  he  looks. 

On-kd  yon-ikdh'-tos    ....  Some  one,  she  looks. 

O-the'-non  wd-tkdh'-tos    .     .     .  Something,  it  looks. 

This  is  the  only  method  of  expressing  in  these  dialects  the 
indeterminate  "  on  "  of  the  French,  in  words  which  have  the 
infixed  object  pronoun.  In  these  words  we  are  obliged,  by 
the  very  nature  of  the  Iroquois  pronouns,  to  express  clearly 
the  gender  of  the  "some  one"  or  of  the  "something." 

Upon  pages  21  and  130  of  the  Grammar  of  Pere  Marcoux 
we  find  the  following:  "  On  is  the  third  person  indefinite, 
and  is  found  in  all  verbs  and  in  all  time;"  and  in  the  conju- 
gations of  that  Grammar  the  feminine  elle,  or  she,  is  applied 
to  all  words  representing  things  to  which  in  English  we 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  59 

would  apply  it,  and  the  indeterminate  on  is  made  to  serve 
under  exceptions  (for  with  his  "  Principes  Fixes  "  Pere  Mar- 
coux  is  ever  consistent)  for  what  I  feel  convinced  is  the 
feminine  ;  therefore  I  conclude  that  his  feminine  pronouns  are 
in  fact  the  neuter,  and  his  indeterminate  the  real  feminine 
pronouns,  which  I  trust  will  appear. 

Upon  page  81,  "Essential  Remarks  upon  the  Use  of 
Verbs,"  we  find  that  "  the  third  indefinite  should  be  used 
in  place  of  the  third  feminine,  out  of  respect  and  politeness, 
when  alluding  to  women." 

Thus  by  an  exception  he  would  allow  us  to  use  for  the 
feminine  what  according  to  our  table  is  the  real  feminine. 
Under  this  remark  we  find  the  following  examples  :  — 

A"/-&z"n'  riis'-ten-ha      .     .     .     I  see  a  person,  my  mother, 
for 

K-ka"*  nis'-ten-ha     ....     I  see  it,  my  mother. 

Ye'-te-ron     .......     She  abides,  is  at  home, 

for 

Ken'-te-ron       ......     It  abides,  is  at  home. 

(Under  the  general  rule,  this  last  form  would  still  stand  for  a  woman.) 

Te-sd-ko"  -snie  ne  ro-sof-ha  .  He  attends  one,  his  grandmother, 
for 

Te-ho-snie  ne  ro-sof-ha       .     .     He  attends  it,  his  grandmother. 

Ya  -kd-wen-he1  -yon     ....     She  is  dead, 
for 

.....     It  is  dead. 


In  these  examples  Pere  Marcoux  enforces  the  use  of  his 
indeterminate  pronoun  (which  is  our  feminine)  in  the  place 


60  In  Memoriam. 

of  his  feminine  (which  is  our  //),  and  in  reality  brings  all 
womankind  under  their  own  pronouns,  thus  separating  them 
from  the  surrounding  of  beasts  male  and  female,  demons,  and 
things,  with  which  he  first  environs  them. 

To-  what  an  emergency  Pere  Marcoux  was  reduced  to 
uphold  consistently  his  division  of  gender  appears  in  the 
appended  list  of  idioms,  in  which  he  says  (page  132),  "It  has 
been  said  in  the  first  part  that  men  alone  were  of  the  noble 
gender,  and  that  the  feminine  gender  belonged  to  women, 
animals,  etc." 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  Ra-tcin,  "  He  is  male,"  must  be 
feminized  when  speaking  of  animals.  Therefore  one  says, 
Kd-tcin,  "  She  is  male."  It  is  necessary  to  say  that  the 
translation  which  our  classification  of  gender  would  allow 
for  the  latter,  rendering  the  Kd-tcin  "  It  is  a  male,"  is  the 
correct  one. 

Again,  upon  page  56,  under  "  Impersonal  Verbs,"  Pere 
Marcoux  remarks  that  these  verbs  have  but  one  person  to 
each  tense,  and  that  this  person  is  always  the  third  person 
feminine.  For  instance,  where  in  the  French  one  would  say, 
//  pleut,  which  in  English  must  be  translated  It  rains,  not 
recognizing  an  it,  he  gives  his  feminine,  which  appears  on 
our  table  as  the  neuter,  thus  :  — 

Yo-ka"a-no'-res It  rains. 

Yo-ka"*-no'-res It  rained. 

A"n-yo-ka"n-no'-res  ....  It  will  rain. 

Ka"n-he'-yons It  is  dying.     (M.) 

Wd-ke'-ra"ns It  snows.     (M.) 


Mrs,  Erminnie  A.  Smith. 


61 


Wunn'-tutc It  rains.     (T.) 

Ka-wV-frhfrf It  frosts. 

Kd'-tkwunq It  snows. 

Ka-tca- tus1 -tha It  makes  it  cold. 

Yu-huks It  is  light. 

Wu-ndtc It  blows. 

I  will  remark  here  that  I  have  found  no  impersonal  verbs, 
and  that  in  each  of  the  foregoing  examples  the  full  conju- 
gation of  each  person,  in  the  various  moods  and  tenses,  may 
be  given  as  follows :  — 


K-ke-ra"ns   .  . 

S-ke-ra"ns  .  . 
Ra-kera"ns  . 

Ye-ke-ra"ns  .  . 

Wa-kf-ra"*s  . 

K-u-ndtc  .  . 
S-u-ndtc  . 

Rh-u-ndtc  .  . 
Ydk-u-ndtc  . 

W-u-ndtc      .  . 

K-tca-tus'-tha  . 

S-tca-tus'-tha  . 
Rhd-tca -tits' -tha 
Ya"-tca-tus'-tha 
Kd-tca-tus-tha 

K-unn!-tutc   .  . 

S-u*n'-tutc    .  . 

Rh-unn-tutc  .  . 

Yak-OPrt-tutc  . 
W-unn!-tutc  . 


I  snow.  (Lit,  pile.) 

Thou  snowest.         " 

He  snows.  " 

She  snows.  " 

It  snows.  " 

I  blow. 

Thou  bio  west. 

He  blows. 

She  blows. 

It  blows. 

I  make  it  cool,  cool,  I  cool  it. 

Thou,  etc. 

He,  etc. 

She,  etc. 

It,  etc. 

I  rain,  wet  by  sprinkling. 

Thou,  etc. 

He,  etc. 

She,  etc. 

It,  etc. 


62  In  Memoriam. 

Upon  page  69  Pere  Marcoux  says :  "  The  personal  verbs 
may  be  used  impersonally;  as,  ioidnere,  'it  is  good,'  from 
ivakidnere,  '  I  am  good  ; '  ioteriwison,  '  it  is  a  finished  matter,' 
is  a  contract,  an  order,  from  wa-ka-te-ri-wi-son,  '  I  made  a 
contract/  etc.  ;  io-iiwe'-sUn,  '  it  is  pleasant,'  from  wd-k-onw/- 
sen,  'I  am  agreeable,'  pleasant,  etc.  ;  io-tsa-nit,  'it  is  terrible,' 
from  wd-kJ-tsd-nit,  '  I  am  terrible,"  etc." 

The  necessity  which  Pere  Marcoux  here  finds  for  imper- 
sonalizing  all  verbs  in  order  to  give  to  the  pronoun  he  has 
denominated  she  its  proper  neuter  sense,  in  a  manner  divides 
gender  into  the  three  divisions  which  we  have  claimed  for  it. 
Furthermore,  by  thus  impersonating  all  verbs,  causing  the 
she  always  to  represent  the  English  it,  and  the  indeterminate 
on  to  represent  by  exception  the  she,  we  find  ourselves  really 
occupying  the  same  ground,  Pere  Marcoux's  arrangement 
suiting  better  the  understanding  of  the  French  student,  and 
the  other  certainly  simplifying  the  language  to  the  English 
student. 

In  the  valuable  Dictionary  of  Pere  Bruyas,  no  indeter- 
minate on  is  recognized,  and  that  author  translates  i-wds 
by  the  French  cela,  or  that;  i-wd,  "that  is  as  large  as,"  and 
says  that  form  is  used  de  rebus  inanim. 

The  old  Onondaga  Dictionary  published  by  Mr.  Shea 
does  not  in  its  numerous  conjugations  give  any  indetermi- 
nate pronouns.  From  the  very  best  native  authority  in  each 
one  of  the  dialects,  I  have  received  the  confirmation  of  the 
existence  of  the  pronoun  it. 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  63 

On  page  399  of  Morgan's  "League  of  the  Iroquois"  we 
find  the  statement  of  the  existence  of  three  genders  ;  also 
in  the  writings  of  Mr.  Ashur  Wright,  who  was  so  long  a 
missionary  to  the  Senecas.  In  conclusion,  I  will  say,  that, 
although  I  have  given  these  pronouns  exactly  as  I  have  taken 
them  down  from  the  best  native  authority  in  each  tribe,  yet 
it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  they  are  invariably  used  cor- 
rectly ;  the  most  notable  exception  being  the  use  of  each  of 
the  singular  third  personal  pronouns  in  place  of  the  plural. 
This  has  probably  arisen  from  the  influence  of  the  facts, 
first,  that  Philosophy  has  never  directly  aided  in  the  forma- 
tion or  establishment  of  the  general  laws  of  language  ;  and, 
secondly,  that  in  Iroquois  there  are  no  fully  differentiated 
nouns  which  should  correctly  represent,  regardless  of  sex  or 
gender,  a  collection  or  community  of  persons  or  things, 
animate  or  senseless,  that  form  from  common  interests, 
conditions  of  being,  customs,  or  habitation,  or  all  of  these 
combined,  a  single  being,  or  individuality,  so  to  speak.  I  will 
say  that  when  the  force  of  the  singular  feminine  pronoun  she 
is  governed,  or  restricted,  by  the  article,  or  by  a  noun  of 
multitude,  or  by  a  plural  suffix,  as  iti-yon  or  ;/«"',  or  by  all 
of  these  conjointly,  it  is,  and  may  then  be,  employed  with 
its  predicates  as  non-wholly  differentiated  collective  nouns 
whose  gender  or  sex  is  not  necessary  to  the  strength  and  the 
clearness  of  the  context  in  which  they  occur.  The  pronoun 
ya"  of  the  Tuscarora,  and  ye  of  the  Mohawk  and  the  other 
dialects,  are,  I  believe,  the  only  forms  of  the  feminine 
pronouns  used  -in  these  curious  substantive  predicates. 


64  In  Memoriam. 

The  following  examples  will  serve,  with  slight  or  no 
changes  of  pronunciation,  for  any  one  of  the  dialects  of  the 
Iroquois  :  — 

Ya" She,  is  Tuscarora. 

Ye She,  is  common  to  the  other  dialects. 

The  names,  or  appellatives,  of  a  tribe,  people,  or  race  are 
"  nouns  of  multitude." 

-ti-yon  (-ni-yoit)  and  «nf  (/z2n)  are  plural  distributive  suffixes, 
having  a  peculiar  force,  etc. 

Ya"-ta-krha"c       She  inhabits,  dwells,  etc. 

ffd"-ya"-ta-krha"' The  people,  nation,  inhabitants. 

Ya"-ta-krha"' -ti-yon The  peoples,  nations,  inhabit- 
ants, etc. 

Tu-ci-ka!* Senecas. 

Tu-d-ka  ya"-td'-krha"'      ....     Seneca  people,  the  S.  people. 
Ha''  Tu-a-kdfya"-td'-krha"f-ti-yon   .     The   various    peoples,   tribes, 

etc.  of  Senecas. 

The  feminine  singular  does  not  include  the  regular  plural, 
and  in  correct  speaking  is  not  much  used.  The  masculine 
singular  he  is  frequently  used,  for  emphasis  probably,  instead 
of  the  pronoun  s/ie;  the  masculine  dual  and  plural  are  often 
used  when  only  one  man  is  included. 

Rather  than  be  astonished  at  these  apparent  inconsist- 
encies, let  us  wonder  that  there  are  so  few  in  connection 
with  the  vexed  question  of  pronouns.  I  have  purposely 
avoided  drawing  any  analogies  or  comparisons  with  the 
construction  of  other  languages,  or  noting  such  parallel 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  65 

coincidences  as  the  use  of  sie  in  the  German  for  the  pronouns 
she,  yon,  and  they,  or  alluding  to  the  various  vicissitudes  of  the 
English  pronoun.  I  have  taken  the  language  just  as  I  found 
it,  independent  of  any  fixed  principles,  neither  noting  nor 
recognizing  any  resemblances  ;  and  trusting  that  this  paper 
will  at  least  illustrate  the  diffiulties  in  the  way  of  conforming 
these  fundamentally  different  dialects  to  the  exact  rules  of 
any  modern  language,  I  offer  it  to  the  consideration  of  those 
interested  in  the  languages  of  the  American  aborigines. 


o 


TO   A    LIZARD    IN   AMBER.1 

W.  A.  CROFFUT. 

From  "Echoes  of  the  ^Esthetic  Society." 
BRIGHT- EYED  swimmer  from  the  unknown  seas, 


Thou  little  cousin  of  the  Ichthyosaurus, 
What  mocking  sylph,  beneath  the  cypress  trees, 
Discarding  flies  and  fleas  and  bugs  and  bees, 
Embalmed  thee  for  us? 

Dwelt  thou  with  man  primeval  in  his  lair 
On  hills  Carpathian  or  desert  Lybian  ? 
Or  didst  thou  with  the  gods  Olympus  share, 
'Mid  such  high  state  living  unnoticed  there, 
Thou  small  amphibian? 

Say  !  didst  thou  rest  on  Agamemnon's  grave 

When  Troy's  renowned  unpleasantness  was  over, 
Or  did  glad  Neptune  fling  thee  from  his  cave 
When  sweet  Calypso  kissed  beside  the  wave 
Her  Spartan  lover? 

How  different  from  the  death  thou  livest  here 

Amid  the  gay  and  social,  wise  and  witty, 
With  dulcet  music  melting  on  the  ear, 
And  Poesy's  sweet  voice  discoursing  clear, 
In  Jersey  City  ! 

1  In  the  cabinet  of  Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith. 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith. 

Thy  lucent  coffin  hath  a  splendid  nook  : 

Above,  with  saucer  eyes  and  claws  retractile, 
An  owl  sits  gazing  with  an  anxious  look ; 
Around  are  gems ;  beneath,  that  limestone  spook, 
The  Pterodactyl. 

Who  pinioned  thy  grotesque  and  uncouth  frame 
Within  the  sunshine  of  this  golden  chamber  ? 
Is  this  the  fountain  whence  the  nectar  came  ? 
Or  is  it  star-born,  —  this  undying  flame 
Which  men  call  amber? 

Or  is  this  jewel  formed  of  sweet  tears,  shed 
By  fair  Heliades  —  Apollo's  daughters  — 
When  their  rash  brother  down  the  welkin  sped, 
Lashing  his  father's  sun-team,  and  fell  dead 
In  Euxine  waters  ? 

Splay-footed  sprawler  from  the  unknown  seas, 

O  tawny  cousin  of  the  Ichthyosaurus, 
What  sportive  sister  of  Hesperides 
In  the  ambrosia  of  celestial  trees 
Embalmed  thee  for  us  ? 


67 


THE  LIZARD  IN  AMBER. 


AMBER. 

history  of  amber  illustrates  most  clearly,  not  only 
the  slow  and  tedious  growth  of  civilization,  but  also 
the  seeming  perversity  and  obtuseness  of  human  nature, 
which,  especially  in  former  times,  so  retarded  the  advance- 
ment of  science. 

Exhuming  this  history  from  the  dim,  far  distant  prehistoric 
past,  we  find  that,  from  first  being  used  as  fuel  by  the  almost 
barbaric  Northern  hordes,  among  the  more  refined  Southern 
peoples,  amber,  like  bronzes  and  their  other  articles  of  luxury, 
took  the  place  of  coin,  and  had  its  economical  and  financial 
import.  The  oldest  written  documents  that  have  come  to  us 
mention  it  as  one  of  the  chief  articles  of  luxury  of  the  ancient 
civilized  world,  —  an  object  of  greater  request  than  fine  gold. 
Three  thousand  years  ago  it  was  well  known  among  the 
ancient  inhabitants  of  Hellas,  that  amber  would  attract  light 
bodies,  and  Thales,  one  of  the  seven  wise  men  of  Greece, 
adduced  that  circumstance  in  support  of  his  theory  that 
inanimate  objects  possessed  souls  ;  but  two  and  a  half  thou- 
sand more  years  passed  before  it  was  discovered  that  it  was 
this  selfsame  power  which,  flashing  amid  the  roar  of  thunder, 
illuminated  the  wide  canopy  of  heaven,  bound  iron  to  iron, 
and  directed  the  silently  recurring  course  of  the  magnetic 
needle.  Tamed  and  chained  as  we  have  considered  this  all- 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  69 

pervading  element,  still,  as  day  by  day  we  are  startled  by  new 
discoveries,  and  while  awaiting  the  result  of  investigations 
which  may  transform  the  night  of  our  great  metropolis  into 
day,  are  we  not  as  puzzled  that  these  problems  should  have 
remained  so  long  unsolved,  as  astonished  at  their  solution  ? 

Americans  can  complacently  pardon  the  inexplicable  fact 
that  Dr.  Wall,  the  English  scientist,  when  succeeding  in 
drawing  the  electric  spark  from  amber,  and  hearing  the  crac- 
kling sound  accompanying  it,  compared  the  two  to  thunder 
and  lightning,  left  the  discovery  of  their  being  identical  to 
our  Benjamin  Franklin,  with  his  kite  and  key.  Nearly  two 
thousand  years  ago  Pliny  wrote  that  amber  was  the  fossil 
resin  of  the  extinct  Conifer  succinum  pinates,  and  yet  to-day 
the  subject  presents  many  unsolved  problems.  It  is  true  the 
modern  geological  column  has  assigned  it  an  approximate 
geological  place,  and  modern  chemistry  has  given  it  a  for- 
mula, and  its  principal  scientific  value  as  the  source  of  suc- 
cinic  acid  and  varnish.  A  brief  review  of  some  established 
facts  in  regard  to  amber,  as  also  some  of  the  erroneous  but 
popularly  received  ideas  which,  if  unimportant,  still  remain 
uncorrected,  will  perhaps  show  that  for  a  substance  ever  pop- 
ular, coveted  as  a  luxury,  even  ranking  as  a  gem,  both  useful 
and  ornamental,  with  a  name  in  every  language  expressive 
of  its  many  qualities,  it  has  scarcely  received  the  attention 
it  deserves. 

Probably  the  oldest  of  these  names  is  Bernstein,  or  its 
equivalent  in  the  old  Teutonic,  from  its  combustibility.  Its 
two  Latin  names  are  snccinum  (juice)  and  lyncitrium. 


70  In  Memoriam. 

In  Persian  it  is  called  Kornbu,  or  straw-robber  ;  in  French 
the  trivial  name  is  also  tire  depaille,  from  its  attracting  straw. 

In  Italian,  Spanish,  and  English,  nearly  the  same  name  is 
given  for  amber,  signifying  cluster  or  mass.  The  first  Greek 
name  applied  to  it  was  a  term  signifying  the  rays  of  the  sun, 
either  from  the  color  or  some  relation  to  the  Sun-god. 

The  popular  Greek  name  was  Electron,  or  the  attractor, 
and  thus  our  substance  can  boast  of  having  added  a  word  to 
nearly  every  language,  as  even  the  mother-tongue-loving  Ger- 
mans find  Electricitdt  more  euphonious  than  their  harsher 
synonym,  Beagsteinkraftigungrustzeng. 

Italy,  Spain,  France,  Switzerland,  and  England  are  given 
as  amber-producing  countries ;  but  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  under  this  name  are  included  many  fossil  resins,  the 
differences  in  which  have  as  yet  been  hardly  determined. 
In  Lemburg,  in  the  tertiary  sandstone,  with  giant  oysters, 
amber  is  found  in  immensely  large  pieces,  clearer  than  the 
Prussian,  and  producing  a  most  delightful  odor  when  burned. 
In  the  pitch  coal  of  Bohemia,  Rentz  found  specimens  con- 
taining sulphur,  and  also  with  the  foraminifera  of  the  Vienna 
tertiary.  Daubr6  found  amber  in  Alsace,  and  Schubert  in 
the  Alps,  but  these  were  of  a  different  quality  from  that  of 
the  Baltic  Sea.  But  there  is  no  doubt  that  from  Holland, 
over  the  German  coast,  through  Siberia  and  Kamtschatka, 
even  to  North  America,  reached  the  amber  conifer  forests  ; 
and  from  the  abundance  of  amber  found  in  some  localities 
those  conifers  must  have  been  as  productive  as  is  at  present 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  71 

the  Dammara  Anstralis  of  New  Zealand,  the  twigs  and 
branches  of  which  are  so  laden  with  white  resin  as  to  have 
the  appearance  of  being  covered  with  icicles. 

One  of  the  great  deposits  of  amber  is  in  the  Hauptvater- 
land,  where,  on  the  plains  of  Pomerania,  the  peasants  dig  in 
the  surface  clay  for  it.  In  the  vicinity  of  Brandenberg,  pieces 
have  been  found  weighing  four  pounds.  From  this  abun- 
dance of  amber  in  the  drift  clay,  and  also  from  the  fact  that 
branches  of  arbor-vitae  (Thuja  occidentalis)  occur  in  the  Baltic 
amber,  and  have  been  found  in  the  stomach  of  the  mastodon 
in  the  United  States,  Goppert  concluded  that  the  Diluvial, 
or  time  of  the  mammoth  in  the  Old  World  and  Mastodon  in 
the  New,  was  the  age  of  amber.  This  theory  has  since  been 
entirely  disproved. 

By  far  the  most  celebrated  locality  for  its  richness  in 
amber,  and  one  which  still  possesses  great  stores  of  this 
valuable  fossil,  is  the  peninsula  of  Samland,  a  portion  of 
Prussia  nearly  surrounded  by  the  Baltic  Sea. 

The  northern  part  of  this  region,  which  constitutes  the 
promontory  of  Briisterort,  is  very  hilly,  and  the  coast  banks 
are  often  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  feet 
high.  Formerly  this  was  all  owned  and  worked  by  the 
German  government  and  watched  by  gendarmes ;  all  amber 
found  even  by  the  peasants  in  ploughing  being  claimed,  the 
finder,  however,  receiving  one  tenth  of  its  value.  For  the 
piece  in  the  Berlin  Museum  weighing  eighteen  pounds,  the 
finder  received  a  thousand  dollars.  Until  ten  years  ago, 


72  In  Memoriam. 

during  stormy  weather,  when  the  waves  were  beaten  against 
the  banks  of  this  coast,  the  amber  was  thrown  up  in  quanti- 
ties, entangled  in  the  seaweeds,  and  a  hundred  hands  were 
ever  ready  to  intercept  it  with  their  nets,  —  a  trying  occu- 
pation, as  the  roughest  storms  yielded  the  richest  booty. 

Of  late  years  the  diving  apparatus  has  been  used  so  suc- 
cessfully that  the  marine  deposit  has  been  greatly  diminished, 
and  systematic  mining  is  now  carried  on  inland,  where  the 
amber  is  much  finer.  The  price  of  amber  has  increased 
during  the  last  year,  and  this  advance  is  caused  by  the  dim- 
inution of  the  yearly  product,  many  of  the  Pachters  or  renters 
having  thrown  up  their  contracts,  and  abandoned  the  business 
of  mining  on  that  account.  It  was  in  this  famed  locality,  so 
favorable  for  a  geological  survey,  that  Professor  Zaddach  of 
the  University  of  Konigsberg  pursued  his  investigations  relat- 
ing to  the  birthplace  of  amber,  and  his  report  throws  great 
light  on  this  vexed  question.  Taking  a  section  of  the  cliffs 
where  the  geological  structure  is  exposed,  he  finds  that  wher- 
ever the  tertiary  formation  crops  out  it  always  comprises  two 
different  deposits ;  the  underlying,  consisting  of  thick  beds 
of  glauconitic  sand,  which  sometimes  attains  a  height  of  sixty 
feet  above  the  sea  level,  and  upon  this  rest  the  beds  of  the 
brown  coal  formation,  from  sixty  to  one  hundred  feet  thick. 
Under  the  greensand  lies  the  so  called  amber  earth,  only 
from  four  to  six  feet  thick,  and  underneath  this  the  "  wilde 
erde,"  so  called  because  containing  no  amber. 

Sometimes   the   beds  of   greensand    are  cemented  by  hy- 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  73 

drated  oxide  of  iron  into  a  coarse  sandstone,  which  often  con- 
tains well  preserved  fossils  representing  the  Tertiary  Period  ; 
but  as  this  glauconitic  sand  is  a  marine  formation,  it  follows 
that  the  amber  it  contains  does  not  lie  in  its  original  bed, 
that  is,  not  in  the  soil  of  the  old  forests  in  which  the  amber 
pines  grew,  but  that  the  amber  was  washed  into  the  sea  in 
which  crabs  and  sea-urchins  lived.  - 

In  the  sand  of  the  amber  beds  are  found  numerous  pebbles 
or  pieces  of  compact  stone,  which  is  evidently  the  parent  rock 
of  the  greensand,  as  it  is  composed  of  exactly  similar  granules 
of  quartz  bound  together  by  a  marly  cement.  The  amber 
earth  also  abounds  in  fragments  of  rock  known  as  chalk  marl, 
which  contains  cretaceous  fossils.  The  same  rock  is  found 
on  the  island  of  Bornholm  in  the  Baltic,  and  belongs  to  the 
Cretaceous. 

It  is  therefore  proved  that  the  tertiary  glauconitic  sand 
has  been  made  up  of  the  greensand  of  the  cretaceous  for- 
mations. Therefore  the  trees  yielding  the  amber  resin  must 
have  grown  upon  the  greensand  beds  of  the  Cretaceous, 
which  then  formed  the  shores  of  the  estuary  where  the 
lower  division  of  the  Tertiary  accumulated. 

Zaddach  assumes  that  at  that  time  the  coast  sank  slowly, 
and,  the  forest  soil  being  washed  by  the  waves,  the  amber 
was  carried  into  the  sea.  Immediately  over  these  amber- 
producing  strata  rest  the  beds  of  the  brown  coal  formation, 
the  fossil  plants  of  which  differ  entirely  from  the  amber  flora. 
Finally,  Prussia  was  laid  dry  by  an  upheaval  of  the  rocks, 


74  In  Memoriam. 

and  this  ended  for  a  time  the  recorded  history  of  the  country. 
Now  ensued  a  new  period  in  the  geological  history  of  Sam- 
land,  when  the  climate  and  all  the  conditions  of  the  country 
were  changed.  The  mountains  of  the  north,  which  projected 
out  of  the  sea,  were  covered  with  glaciers  that  extended  down 
to  the  water.  Icebergs,  laden  with  the  finer  debris  of  rocks 
and  blocks  of  stone,  were  detached  from  these  glaciers,  and 
drifted  to  the  south,  passing  over  land  formed  of  cretaceous 
strata.  Without  doubt  there  remained  a  considerable  deposit 
of  amber  upon  this  greensand  bed  of  the  cretaceous  forma- 
tion where  the  old  forest  soil  still  existed.  By  the  icebergs 
this  soil  was  now  broken  up,  and  the  amber  brought  down 
and  scattered  in  every  direction. 

Thus  the  fact  is  explained  that  amber  nests  are  found  in 
the  quaternary  deposits  over  all  the  plains  of  Northern 
Europe. 

This  epitome  of  Professor  Zaddach's  report  seems  to  settle 
the  question  as  to  the  birthplace  of  amber  in  Germany,  and 
contradicts  entirely  the  generally  received  opinion  that  it  is 
a  product  of  the  brown  coal  formation,  and  also  the  theory 
of  Dr.  Feuchtwangers,  that  marine  amber  was  a  later  deposit 
or  formation  than  the  terrestrial. 

It  is  apparent  that  the  gum  of  the  amber  trees  flowed  out 
as  a  viscid  sap,  to  which  all  small  objects,  leaves,  twigs, 
insects,  etc.,  that  came  in  contact  with  it  adhered.  Subse- 
quent exudation  covered  these,  and  preserved  them  more 
perfectly  than  was  possible  by  any  other  method.  In  this 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  75 

way,  vast  numbers  of  insects  were  hermetically  sealed  up, 
over  eight  hundred  species  having  been  discovered,  and 
many  groups  yet  remaining  to  be  studied. 

These  give  us  much  interesting  information  in  regard,  not 
only  to  the  insect  life  of  the  amber  age,  but  also  in  regard 
to  the  history  of  many  of  our  living  groups  and  species. 
(See  Heere's  description  of  amber  insects.)  These  species 
are  now  mostly  extinct,  but  have  affinity  with  tropical  forms. 

A  very  interesting  collection  of  these  ancient  mummies 
can  be  seen  in  the  British  Museum  ;  a  classic  spider  is  at 
Amherst,  and  in  my  own  collection  is  a  lizard,  so  perfectly 
embalmed  that  the  animal  tissues  can  be  distinctly  seen,  as 
also  the  liquid  contents  of  the  stomach.  This  little  curio  has 
the  honor  of  having  been  christened  by  Professor  Agassiz. 

Prof.  H.  R.  Goppert  has  made  a  study  of  the  remains  of 
plants  found  in  amber,  and  has  identified  one  hundred  and 
sixty-three  species,  all  of  which  are  now  extinct.  Mr.  Kal- 
denberg  of  New  York  has  specimens  of  amber  containing 
bark,  water,  and  various  insects. 

After  mining,  amber  is  kept  temporarily  in  vaults  near  the 
amber  localities.  Rosa  narrates  that  he  entered  one  of  the 
vaults  of  the  Pachter  Douglas,  where  he  saw  the  yearly 
products,  arranged  according  to  their  size  and  quality  in 
chests  and  baskets,  and  saw  records  containing  the  yearly 
results  back  to  150x3.  The  worth  of  the  pieces  varies  accord- 
ing to  the  size  and  perfection. 

For  the  trade  it  is  divided  into  classes,  the  best  pieces 


76  In  Memoriam. 

being  generally  sent  in  the  rough  to  Constantinople,  where 
they  are  used  for  the  mouth-pieces  of  pipes,  as  it  is  still 
believed  there  that  amber  possesses  properties  preventing 
contagion  ;  and  as  the  pipes  of  this  ease-loving  people  are 
lighted  by  domestics,  the  amber  tips  to  the  long  stems  are 
considered  a  prudent  caution.  This  trade  with  Constanti- 
nople is  very  ancient,  and  still  continues  over  the  same  route 
as  a  thousand  years  ago.  The  smaller-sized  pure  pieces  are 
used  for  beads,  and  the  very  impure  for  the  distillation  of 
succinic  acid ;  the  residue  or  refuse  is  the  Colophonium  suc- 
cinic,  employed  in  the  preparation  of  varnish.  The  varnish 
made  from  amber  has  long  been  considered  the  finest,  but 
other  resins  are  now  its  rivals,  and  varied  are  the  secrets  of 
this  prosperous  trade.  With  amateurs  at  work  all  over  the 
land,  we  may  hope  that  even  the  secret  of  Stradivarius  may 
yet  come  to  light. 

The  chemical  analyses  of  all  resins,  both  fossil  and  recent, 
differ  very  slightly ;  certain  varieties  of  amber,  copal,  mastic, 
etc.,  giving  nearly  the  same  atomic  ratio,  as  will  be  seen  from 
the  following  table. 

Amber.  Carbon.  Hydrogen.  Oxygen. 

10  8  I 

Retinite 12  9  i 

Copal 10  9  i 

Mastic 10  8  i 

Eliminite      .     .     .     .  10  8  i 

Fichtelite      ....  8  6  i 

Ambrite 16  13  i 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  77 

The  conclusion  is,  that  their  differences  consist  in  the 
arrangement  of  their  molecules,  and  not  in  their  composi- 
tion, or  even  age. 

Amber  may  be  distinguished  from  the  other  resins  by  its 
hardness,  its  lesser  brittleness,  and  the  much  higher  tempera- 
ture required  to  reduce  it,  and  also  its  greater  electric  action  ; 
but  the  difference  is  quickly  discovered  in  the  attempt  to  cut 
and  polish,  as  the  ordinary  resins  become  in  the  process  so 
heated  and  softened  as  in  a  measure  to  prevent  their  use  for 
ornamental  purposes.  Copal  jewelry  is,  however,  occasion- 
ally made,  but  soon  loses  its  lustre. 

A  property  of  amber  not  generally  known  is  its  flexibility 
at  certain  temperatures.  Formerly,  when  amber  required 
bending,  it  was  softened  by  placing  it  in  warm  linseed  oil, 
and  it  could  then  be  bent  into  any  required  form.  For 
changing  the  form  of  amber,  the  method  at  present  used  in 
an  extensive  manufactory  in  New  York  is  simply  to  hold  the 
amber  over  a  lamp,  and  draw  it  out  slowly  by  hand. 

Although  this  process  is  very  tedious  and  difficult,  the 
results  are  marvellous.  A  pipe-stem  nineteen  inches  long 
has  been  in  this  manner  drawn  out  of  a  coil  of  amber 
about  six  by  four  inches  in  size,  or  fifteen  inches  in 
circumference. 

At  the  same  factory  can  be  seen  the  process  of  working 
amber,  which,  owing  to  its  low  degree  of  hardness,  is  wrought 
with  the  turning  lathe,  after  having  been  cut  with  a  knife  and 
file  into  something  approaching  the  form  required.  It  is  then 


78  In  Memoriam. 

polished  in  the  lathe,  or  by  hand,  with  pumice-stone,  whiting, 
and  alcohol.  The  chippings  and  amber  dust  left  from  the 
cutting  are  used  for  varnish  or  incense. 

The  Orientals,  especially  the  Chinese,  consider  the  burning 
of  the  odoriferous  amber  the  highest  mark  of  respect  possible 
to  pay  a  stranger  or  distinguished  guest,  and  the  more  they 
burn,  the  more  marked  is  their  expression  of  esteem. 

We  find  in  King's  work  on  Gerns,  the  following:  "A  large 
amber  cup,  holding  half  a  pint,  has  lately  been  discovered 
deposited  in  a  tumulus  in  Ireland,  which,  from  its  size,  could 
hardly  have  been  cut  out  of  a  single  block  of  that  substance. 
It  has  been  ascertained  that  bits  of  amber  boiled  in  turpen- 
tine can  be  reduced  to  a  paste,  reanimated,  and  moulded  into 
any  form  desired." 

In  Feuchtwangers  on  Gems,  we  also  find  similar  assertions 
regarding  the  melting  and  reforming  of  amber.  Both  King 
and  Feuchtwangers  are  in  error  on  this  point.  If  amber  were 
ever  thus  melted  and  moulded,  the  art  has  certainly  been  lost. 
Repeated  experiments  fail  to  produce  such  a  result,  although 
a  recent  German  scientific  journal  informs  us  that  a  patent 
for  such  a  discovery  has  been  applied  for. 

An  art  so  valuable,  if  successful,  will  surely  secure  a  fortune 
to  its  inventor.  But  to  account  for  the  cup  exhumed  from 
the  Irish  tumulus  it  is  not  necessary  to  have  recourse  to  any 
theory. 

Alexander,  Czar  of  all  the  Russias,  owns  a  tea  set  cut 
from  blocks  of  this  precious  material ;  and  I  have  seen  rough 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  79 

specimens  in  both  the  Berlin  and  Vienna  Museums  larger 
than  would  have  been  required  for  the  cup  alluded  to. 

The  imitations  of  amber  are  various.  Glass  paste  is  some- 
times used  ;  another  composition  is  of  turpentine  and  caout- 
chouc ;  still  another,  linseed  oil,  gum  mastic,"  and  litharge,  to 
which  finely  powdered  copal  is  added  to  give  the  appearance 
of  veins.  Add  to  this  ants  of  decalcomania,  and  we  have 
the  material  of  the  cigar-holders  which  so  deceived  the  unin- 
itiated during  our  Exhibition  at  Philadelphia. 

The  most  perfect  imitation  is  the  uncolored  celluloid. 
Abbe"  Haiiy  gives  the  following  mode  of  detecting  or  identi- 
fying amber :  "  Attach  a  fragment  to  a  knife,  and  when 
inflamed  the  amber  will  burn  with  some  noise  and  ebullition, 
but  without  liquefying  so  as  to  flow,  whereas  all  other  resins 
and  compositions  melt  and  drop."  A  better  method  is  per- 
haps the  electrometer. 

Very  little  amber  has  as  yet  been  found  in  the  United 
States.  Gay  Head,  Martha's  Vineyard,  Camden,  N.  J.,  and 
Cape  Sable  only,  are  mentioned  as  its  localities.  A  barrel- 
ful  of  small  pieces  was  taken  years  ago  from  the  greensand 
of  New  Jersey,  which  through  some  mistake  was  burned. 
Let  us  hope  for  the  accident  which  may  yet  reveal  to  us 
hidden  stores  of  this  interesting  substance,  with  a  less  primi- 
tive fate  in  reserve  for  it. 

While  the  color  of  amber  is  generally  yellow,  it  occurs  in 
all  shades  from  pure  white  to  black.  The  Falernian,  from 
the  wine  of  that  name,  was  the  favorite  color  among  the 


80  In  Memoriam. 

Romans.  Dice  of  the  white  variety  are  hardly  distinguish- 
able from  ivory.  At  Constantinople,  a  pipe-stem  of  the 
milk-white  variety  is  prized  by  the  Turks  at  from  forty  to 
a  hundred  dollars.  The  action  of  sulphuric  acid  on  the 
yellow  changes  it  to  red.  A  beautiful  specimen  of  green 
amber  has  been  found  on  the  American  coast. 

"  Black  amber,"  which  was  a  vexed  question  in  the  Middle 
Ages,  returns  to  question  us  again  to-day.  Monsieur  le 
Conte  de  Borch,  in  his  letters  from  Sicily  within  the  last 
decade,  says  that  "  black  amber  is  common."  Stretter,  the 
latest  English  authority  on  Gems,  also  gives  black  amber ; 
but  a  careful  analysis  of  the  black  amber  which  has  recently 
been  imported  from  Spain  to  be  manufactured  in  New  York 
gives:  Carbon,  82.57;  Hydrogen,  7.70;  Oxygen  and  Nitro- 
gen, 9.08  ;  Ash,  0.65. 

A  result  so  different  from  true  amber,  and  on  distillation 
yielding  no  succinic  acid,  is  therefore  not  true  amber,  but 
either  a  superior  variety  of  jet,  or  a  highly  oxidized  bitumen. 
In  chemical  composition  it  seems  to  occupy  an  intermediate 
position  between  cannel  coal  and  torbanite.  Subjected  to 
the  microscope  by  Professor  Julian  of  Columbia  College,  a 
woody  fibre  was  visible,  replaced  in  part  by  resin.  Its  elec- 
tric power  is  great,  and,  admitting  as  it  does  of  a  remarkable 
polish,  its  lightness  well  adapts  it  for  ornamental  purposes. 

As  the  cold,  dreary  portion  of  Germany  where  amber  is 
principally  found  would  have  had  little  attention  from  the 
Southern  peoples  except  for  this  valuable  product,  are  we  not 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  81 

impelled  to  inquire  respecting  the  influence  of  the  amber 
trade  on  the  development  of  civilization  ?  For  among  the  old 
accounts  of  journeyings  in  search  of  amber  we  find  the  first 
mention  of  the  Teutons  as  a  race.  As  the  search  for  an 
"El  Dorado"  led  to  voyages  of  discovery  in  later  times,  so 
we  find  that  voyages  and  pilgrimages  to  the  land  of  amber 
were  made,  dating  back  to  1500  years  before  Christ. 

Peschel  says,  "  Preach  aloud  the  fact  that  the  migrations 
of  nations  depend  on  the  existence  of  the  substantial  treas- 
ures of  the  earth."  So  this  Prussian  paradise  had  been 
visited  by  Pythias  of  Massilena,  four  hundred  years  before 
Christ ;  also  by  Theophrastus,  the  naturalist  and  philoso- 
pher, and  by  Philomen,  the  Greek  poet.  Nero  sent  there 
his  Roman  knights,  who  brought  back  quantities  of  amber 
to  enrich  his  treasury ;  and  a  small  image  in  this  precious 
material  was  valued  higher  than  a  human  slave. 

Amber  was  intermingled  with  the  myths  and  religion  of 
the  Greeks,  their  legends  ascribing  its  origin  to 

"  The  sweet  tears  shed 
By  fair  Heliades,  —  Apollo's  daughters,  — 
When  their  rash  brother  down  the  welkin  sped, 
Lashing  his  father's  sun-team,  and  fell  dead 
In  Euxine  waters." 

Amber  literature  is  of  great  interest  to  the  virtuoso. 
Books  in  all  languages  refer  to  its  many  supposed  qualities, 
and  the  insects  contained  in  it  have  given  rise  to  many 
quaint  metaphors  which  still  exist.  Martial  (A.  u.  43)  wrote 


82  In  Memoriam. 

in  Latin:  "The  bee  is  enclosed,  and  shines  preserved  in  a 
tear  of  the  sisters  of  Phaeton,  so  it  seems  enshrined  in  its 
own  nectar.  It  has  obtained  a  worthy  reward  for  its  great 
toils  ;  we  may  suppose  that  the  bee  itself  would  have  desired 
such  a  death." 

Thomas  May  (1640)  thus  translates  this:  "Here  shines  a 
bee  enclosed  in  an  amber  tomb,  as  if  entombed  in  her  own 
honeycomb.  A  fit  reward  fate  to  her  labors  gave  ;  no  other 
death  would  she  have  wished  to  have." 

Hay,  in  the  same  century,  translates  it  thus  :  — 

"  The  bee  inclosed,  and  through  the  amber  shown, 
Seems  buried  in  a  juice  that  was  her  own. 
So  honored  was  a  life  in  labor  spent, 
Such  might  she  wish  to  have  her  monument." 

"  Admire,"  says  Claudian,  "  the  tomb  of  a  vile  insect ;  no 
sovereign  can  boast  one  half  so  splendid." 

"Non  potuit  tumulo  nobiliore  mori." 
Sir  John  Denham  (1640)  wrote  of  streams, — 

"  Whose  foam  was  amber,  and  whose  gravel  gold." 

Eastern  poets  say  that  amber  is  a  gum  from  the  tears  of 
certain  consecrated  sea-birds.  To  this  fanciful  origin  Moore 
alludes  in  his  "Araby's  Daughter":  — 

"  Around  thee  shall  glisten  the  loveliest  amber 
That  ever  the  sorrowing  sea-bird  hath  wept, 
And  many  a  shell  in  whose  hollow-wreathed  chambers 
We  Peris  of  ocean  by  moonlight  have  slept." 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  83 

Domitius  Nero,  among  other  extravagances,  had  in  a 
poem  called  the  hair  of  his  wife,  Poppaea,  "amber-colored." 
This  elegant  name,  given  to  red  hair,  brought  the  color  into 
fashion  ;  and  every  device  was  resorted  to,  even  to  the  wear- 
ing of  wigs,  by  the  Roman  ladies  to  give  this  amber-colored 
ornament  to  their  heads,  in  lieu  of  their  own  natural  dark 
locks. 

In  the  Nibelungen  Lied,  we  find  Hagentrouze  with  his 
amber-colored  girdle;  the  dragon's  blood  armor  of  Siegfried 
is  also  supposed  to  have  been  amber,  and  Brunhilde  mentions 
the  amber-colored  flower. 

Byron  alludes  to  amber  in  the  "  Island,"  and  Pope  speaks 
of  Sir  Plume,  "Of  amber  snuff-box  justly  vain."  Also  in  his 
Prologue  to  the  "  Satires" :  — 

"  Pretty  in  amber  to  observe  the  forms 
Of  flies  and  ants  and  bees  and  bugs  and  worms  ; 
The  things  we  know  are  neither  rich  or  rare, 
But  wonder  how  the  De'il  they  got  there." 

Milton  apostrophizes  a  bee  in  amber,  and  modern  authors 
have  written  of  the  "Amber  Witch"  and  of  "Amber  Gods," 
and  to-day  a  "  Lizard  in  Amber  "  is  thus  addressed.1  .... 

So  questions  the  poet,  but  if  we  might  invoke  this  "ancient 
mariner  "  from  out  his  crystal  coffin,  more  serious  would  be 
the  questions  we  would  bid  him  solve. 

But,  though  speechless,  he  bears  a  silent  witness ;  for  as 

1  This  poem,  having  been  written  for  the  /Esthetic  Society,  is  given  complete 
at  page  66,  instead  of  only  giving  the  quotation  here. 


84  In  Memoriam. 

one  of  the  many  hieroglyphics  of  the  language  of  geology, 
underneath  its  Rosetta  wand  he  helps  to  reveal  the  history 
of  our  earth.  Thrice  happy  he,  the  gifted  mortal,  who, 
wielding  this  magic  wand,  can  lift  the  veil,  and  translate 
these  mystic  symbols  of  the  too  long  "dusky  past"! 


I 


Mrs.  Ertninnie  A.  Smith.  85 


THE    PETRIFIED    FERN.1 

MERY    L.    BOLLES    BRANCH. 

From  ll  Echoes  of  the  ^Esthetic  Society" 

N  a  valley,  centuries  ago, 
Grew  a  little  fern-leaf  green  and  slender, 
Veining  delicate  and  fibres  tender, 
Waving  when  the  wind  crept  down  so  low. 

Rushes  tall,  and  moss,  and  grass  grew  round  it ; 
Playful  sunbeams  darted  in  and  found  it ; 
Drops  of  dew  stole  down  by  night  and  crowned  it ; 
But  no  foot  of  man  e'er  came  that  way ;  — 
Earth  was  young  and  keeping  holiday. 

Monster  fishes  swam  the  silent  main  ; 

Stately  forests  waved  their  giant  branches ; 

Mountains  hurled  their  snowy  avalanches  ; 
Mammouth  creatures  stalked  across  the  plain. 

Nature  revelled  in  grand  mysteries  ; 

But  the  little  fern  was  not  like  these, 

Did  not  number  with  the  hills  and  trees, 
Only  grew  and  waved  its  sweet,  wild  way ; 
No  one  came  to  note  it  day  by  day. 

Earth,  one  time,  put  on  a  frolic  mood, 

Heaved  the  rocks,  and  changed  the  mighty  motion 
Of  the  strong,  dread  currents  of  the  ocean  ; 

Moved  the  hills,  and  shook  the  haughty  wood  ; 
1  In  the  cabinet  of  Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith. 


86  In  Memoriam. 

Crushed  the  little  fern  in  soft,  moist  clay, 
Covered  it,  and  hid  it  safe  away. 
O  the  long,  long  centuries  since  the  day ! 
O  the  changes  !     O  life's  bitter  cost, 
Since  the  little  useless  fern  was  lost ! 

Useless?     Lost?    There  came  a  thoughtful  man, 
Searching  Nature's  secrets  far  and  deep ; 
From  a  fissure  in  a  rocky  steep 

He  withdrew  a  stone,  o'er  which  there  ran 
Fairy  pencillings,  a  quaint  design,  — 
Leafage,  vein  ing,  fibres,  clear  and  fine,  — 
And  the  fern's  life  lay  in  every  line. 

So,  I  think,  God  hides  some  souls  away, 

Sweetly  to  surprise  us  the  last  day. 


THE   SIGNIFICANCE   OF   FLORA   TO 
THE    IROQUOIS. 

HPHERE  are  many  circumstances  which  help  to  prove  that 
•^  in  the  distant  past  a  certain  large  stock  of  Indians, 
either  for  their  protection  in  establishing  outposts  for  the 
acquisition  of  hunting  facilities,  or  for  other  reasons,  became 
so  dispersed  as  finally  to  receive  at  least  six  different  tribal 
names,  and  to  speak  the  several  dialects  known  as  the  Mo- 
hawk, the  Oneida,  the  Onondaga,  the  Cayuga,  the  Seneca, 
and  the  Tuscarora.  What  may  have  been  the  original  name 
of  their  mother  tongue,  if  we  may  use  that  affectionate  ex- 
pression, we  cannot  yet  decide.  I  see  no  reason  why  it  may 
not  have  been  their  own  appellation  of  themselves  at  the 
present  time,  a  name  which  with  slight  dialectical  differences 
of  sound  is  common  to  them  all,  namely,  "  Ho-ti-non- syofi- n?  " 
or  "  Extended  House,"  referring  to  their  style  of  architecture 
and  manner  of  living.  Most  writers  upon  the  Iroquois,  how- 
ever, consider  that  name  to  date  from  a  confederacy,  reunit- 
ing this  family,  supposed  to  have  been  originated  by  the 
mythical  Haia-hwaY-tha". 

From  the  easily  distinguished  resemblances  between  these 
dialects,  the  early  French  grouped  them  as  the  "  Iroquois," 
a  word  supposed  to  mimic  two  very  frequent  endings  com- 
mon to  all  the  different  tribes.  Under  the  system  of  Indian 


88  In  Memoriam. 

nomenclature  lately  adopted  by  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  the 
term  "  Iroquoian "  has  been  applied  to  this  group.  In  a 
paper  which  I  had  the  honor  of  reading  before  the  American 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science  some  years  ago, 
I  endeavored  to  explain  some  of  the  differences  between  the 
dialects  composing  this  group,  and  some  probable  causes  of 
the  same;  but  in  this  brief  study  I  shall  have  occasion  to 
note  more  particularly  their  marked  resemblances,  confining 
my  examples  within  the  limited  scope  of  my  subject. 

In  a  list  containing  forty  names  of  trees  and  plants,  which 
I  procured  from  each  of  the  six  tribes,  more  than  half  have 
the  same  name  in  each  one  of  the  dialects.  The  differing 
names  are  nearly  all  confined  to  the  Seneca  and  Cayuga 
dialects. 

Among  the  marked  resemblances  are  the  following :  — 

ENGLISH.  TUSCARORA. 

Beam  Tree Na-rhdJ-kwi. 

Beans U-£d-hd-rha,  or  £d-ha. 

Beech  Tree U-tckdnrh'-ha. 

Corn U-nif-ha. 

Cranberry Tuks^wa"-nati\ 

Cypress U-na-tu'-ya. 

Hemlock t7-na""-af. 

Hops U-tcF-tca. 

Mulberry ^lui-yaq. 

Raspberry Tsyu-ta-kwa-ka!yan. 

Raspberry,  Red U-na-tcti-kwa. 

Rice    ....  .  U-na-tca. 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  89 

Spruce U-tai-ku  -nan\ 

Tamarack Ka-na?"-ttla<;. 

Tobacco Tcdrh-hu. 

White  Pine U-nan-ta '. 

White  Cedar U-fu-rhd"-ta. 

Wild  Cherry A'-rKt. 

Winter  Green Kd-nd-ka^sd^-krhd^. 

Turnip U-bcT-kwa. 

These  then  are  pure  Iroquoian  words,  souvenirs  of  pre- 
historic forests  where  the  crack  of  a  rifle  was  unheard  and 
unknown,  and  of  a  time  when  special  uses  and  qualities, 
fanciful  ideas,  or  supposed  resemblances,  were  the  science  of 
nomenclature. 

Though  unwritten,  can  this  Iroquoian  language  properly 
be  termed  "  prehistoric,"  when  even  its  isolated  words  rep- 
resent beautiful  thoughts  and  images,  and  are  in  themselves 
a  history,  and  representatives  of  the  mode  of  thought  in  that 
distant  age  when  they  were  spoken  ? 

Let  us  decipher  a  few  of  these  ancient  words,  and  compare 
them  with  as  many  in  English,  and  they  will  reveal  to  us  at 
least  the  sameness  in  the  underlying  structure  of  languages, 
whether  they  be  high  up  or  low  down  on  the  rounds  of  the 
ladder  of  development. 

To  the  native  Iroquois  the  white  ash  was  the  bow  tree,  and 
the  black  ash  the  canoe  tree,  implying  that  from  these  two 
trees  were  fashioned  those  indispensable  articles. 

The  elm  tree  was  the  symbol  of  grace,  and  happy  the 


90  In  Memoriam. 

Iroquoian  maiden  who  in  her  childhood  had  drunk  of  its  sap, 
and  was  therefore  destined  to  be  as  stately. 

The  spruce  was  named  from  its  erect  cones  ;  the  apple  was 
the  large  fruit.  The  original  meaning  of  the  strawberry  is 
unknown,  but  a  pine-apple  is  now  termed  "  large  strawberry." 

Water-melon  translates  "  It  sheds  its  blush,"  and  musk- 
melon  "  Ripening  fruit."  Corn  means  seed,  marking  it  as 
having  been  at  some  period  their  only  agricultural  product. 
This  is  further  proven  from  the  fact  that  corn  has  in  the 
Iroquois  a  verb  "  to  plant"  of  its  own,  which  is  in  reality  the 
name  of  the  famous  Cornplanter,  the  word  "  corn  "  not  being 
present  in  that  proper  name.  Wintergreen  translates  pleas- 
ant odor,  and  the  word  for  cranberry  imitates  the  sound 
which  is  made  when  picking  this  fruit. 

We  may  not  find  in  this  nomenclature  the  poetry  of  many 
of  our  own  floral  names,  such  as  "  eyebright,"  "  bluebell," 
"  maidenhair,"  "  lady's-slipper,"  and  some  others.  But  may 
there  not  be  many  Iroquoian  words  whose  literal  meanings 
are  as  beautiful,  though  now  as  unknown  to  those  who  use 
them  as  is  Chaucer's  "day's-eye"  to  many  English  speaking 
people  who  to-day  find  no  sentiment  in  the  word  daisy  ? 

We  find  in  Iroquois  many  homonyms  the  explanations  of 
which  are  very  curious.  Our  dandelion  Anglicized  from  the 
French  dent  de  lion  (lion's  tooth),  alluding  to  the  shape  of 
its  petals,  is  in  Tuscarora  Ka-rJia,  and,  coming  simulta- 
neously with  the  sturgeon,  is  said  to  announce  its  arrival, 
and  is  therefore  called  by  the  same  name  as  that  fish.  Cor- 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  91 

respondingly  in  English  we  have  the  "  cuckoo-flower,"  so 
called  because  this  orchis  blossoms  about  the  time  that  the 
cuckoo  is  first  heard. 

The  Iroquois  find  a  resemblance  between  the  cucumber 
and  the  warty  toad,  and  they  have  the  same  name ;  and  the 
words  for  turnip  and  fist  are  alike. 

Many  homonyms  in  English  arise  in  the  same  manner, 
from  similar  resemblances  ;  for  examples,  dock  is  from  the 
Icelandic  docke,  a  tail,  to  cut  short,  and  dock  is  a  tap-rooted 
plant,  or  plant  with  a  tail ;  also  flag,  to  grow  weary,  from 
moving  to  and  fro ;  so  flag,  an  ensign  which  moves  in  the 
wind,  and  flag,  a  plant  from  its  waving  motion. 

The  witch-hazel  in  Tuscarora  is  named  from  its  pith, 
the  alder  from  its  lack  of  it.  Oats  in  Mohawk  are  named 
from  their  drooping  tendency,  which  reminds  us  of  the 
poetical  German  name  "  golden  rain,"  given  to  our  drooping 
laburnum. 

The  quantities  of  blueberries  growing  upon  the  Allegha- 
nies  gave  their  name  to  those  mountains.  The  word  Erie  is 
also  Iroquoian,  named  from  its  being  the  locality  where  wild 
cherries  abounded. 

The  reflection  of  the  trees  in  the  lake  at  Toronto  gave  that 
city  the  Iroquois  name  which  it  still  bears.  How  familiar  is 
this  system  of  nomenclature  to  those  interested  in  the  origin 
of  names ! 

Madeira  was  named  by  the  Portuguese  from  its  great 
forests ;  the  classic  name  Peloponnesus  was  changed  to  Mo- 


92  In  Memoriam. 

rea,  from  the  resemblance  of  that  region  to  the  shape  of 
a  mulberry  leaf,  and  the  meaning  of  Florida  is  familiar 
to  all. 

The  synonyms  of  the  Iroquoian  group  probably  date  from 
their  separation  into  tribes.  Words  occur  among  the  differ- 
ent tribes  which  are  radically  different,  but  which  have  the 
same  literal  meaning.  Thus,  in  Tuscarora  a  head  of  cab- 
bage is  u-ta'-rha  ,  while  in  Mohawk  the  word  o-non'-tci  means 
literally  the  same  thing,  —  head. 

In  Tuscarora  wat-ci? -rha0"' -ih-tJia  ,  signifying  the  poplar, 
translates  literally,  "  its  wings  (its  leaves)  up  and  down, " 
while  in  the  Mohawk  wd-ne-rd-ton'-t/id  signifies  the  same 
thing. 

That  the  Tuscarora  name  for  the  pear  is  quite  modern,  is 
amusingly  apparent.  The  word  for  bear  in  that  dialect  is 
ti-tdF  -rk&*\  having  no  labials  in  Tuscarora,  and  mistaking 
the  /  for  a  £,  thus  supposing  the  English  called  the 
fruit  a  bear,  they  applied  to  it  their  own  name  for  that 
animal,  u -ttf' -rhiff* . 

The  Iroquois  appellations  for  flowers  are  often  used  for 
feminine  proper  names ;  as,  A-won-ne-ont,  hanging  flower ; 
Kd-tct'-tct'-std'-kwdst,  beautiful  flower  ;  while  trees  and  their 
qualities  often  serve  for  masculine  proper  names.  This  prac- 
tice of  surnaming  girls  after  flowers  and  beautiful  objects 
is  quite  common  to  us,  and  is  of  very  ancient  date.  But  it 
is  noticeable  that  in  modern  times  more  plants  have  been 
named  after  men  than  contrariwise.  As  the  Gentian  from 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  93 

Gentius  ;  Dahlia  after  Dahl,  a  Swede  who  introduced  its  culti- 
vation ;  Fuchsia,  named  after  Fuchs  ;  Magnolia  after  Magnol ; 
while  the  Camellia  received  its  name  from  being  introduced 
from  Japan  into  Europe  by  Camellus,  a  Moravian  Jesuit. 

That  an  original  name  in  Iroquois  has  often  been  trans- 
ferred to  other  than  the  original  object  is  verified  by 
examples  like  the  following:  — 

U-narF-f'a      ....  Potato  in  Tuscarora. 

O-non-sa Onion  in  Onondaga. 

WT-sifnt       ....  Strawberry  in  Tuscarora. 

Wis Plum  in  Onondaga. 

Something  corresponding  to  this  is  the  case  with  the 
German  word  tartnffle,  given  to  the  potato  on  account  of  its 
resemblance  to  their  tartoffle  or  truffle.  They  have  since 
changed  the  t  into  a  k,  making  kartoffle. 

These  analogies  might  be  carried  much  further,  if  the 
subject  were  extended  outside  the  chosen  limit  of  Flora ;  but 
I  doubt  if  any  other  subject  would  be  as  fruitful  in  producing 
examples  capable  of  comparing  favorably  with  those  selected 
from  a  language  into  whose  treasury  all  civilized  nations  have 
lavished  their  contributions. 

There  was  much  in  nature  incomprehensible  to  the  Iroquois 
mind,  but  not  so  were  the  forest  trees.  They  were  his  guide, 
his  friends  and  companions,  and  all  vegetation  served  to 
supply  so  many  of  his  wants  that  we  find  the  six  religious 
festivals  of  the  Iroquois  principally  devoted  to  giving  thanks 
for  the  maple,  strawberry,  green  corn,  bean,  and  squash, 


94  In  Memoriam. 

calling  them  "  Our  life,  our  supporters,"  whilst  tobacco  was 
continually  thrown  upon  the  fire,  that  their  prayers  might 
ascend  in  its  cloud  of  smoke. 

The  most  striking  metaphors  of  the  Iroquoian  orators 
were  those  in  which  they  likened  themselves  to  the  forest 
trees.  To  a  friend  who  called  upon  the  great  Oneida  chief, 
SkcP-na?' -don ,  a  short  time  before  his  death,  he  expressed 
himself  thus  :  "  I  am  an  aged  hemlock ;  the  winds  of  a  hun- 
dred winters  have  swept  through  my  branches.  I  am  dead 
at  the  top.  The  generation  to  which  I  belonged  has  run 
away  and  left  me.  Why  I  live,  the  Great  Spirit  knows. 
Pray  to  him  that  I  may  have  patience  to  wait  my  appointed 
time  to  die." 

A  lady,  who  knew  the  fondness  of  the  famous  Red  Jacket 
for  children,  inquired  of  him  if  he  had  any  living,  as  she 
knew  that  several  had  been  taken  away.  Fixing  his  eyes 
upon  her  with  a  mournful  expression,  he  replied :  "  Red 
Jacket  was  once  a  great  man,  and  in  favor  with  the  Great 
Spirit.  He  was  a  lofty  pine  among  the  smaller  trees  of  the 
forest.  But  after  years  of  glory  he  degraded  himself  by 
drinking  the  fire-water  of  the  white  man.  The  Great  Spirit 
has  looked  upon  him  in  anger,  and  his  lightning  has  stripped 
the  pine  of  its  branches." 

The  early  youth  of  this  great  orator  was  spent  in  the 
beautiful  valley  of  the  Genesee.  There  were  his  favorite 
hunting-grounds.  There  his  memory  loved  to  linger.  During 
the  strife  of  wars,  and  the  more  bitter  strife  of  treaties,  he 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  95 

had  indulged  very  little  in  his  favorite  pastime;  but  when  a 
day  of  comparative  quiet  came,  he  took  his  gun  and  went 
forth  in  the  hope  of  finding  a  deer.  He  had  gone  but  a 
short  distance  when  a  clearing  opened  before  him ;  the  old 
man  turned  aside,  and  wandered  in  another  direction,  but 
soon  came  to  a  place  where  the  white  man  was  turning  the 
earth  up  in  dark  furrows  over  a  large  field.  It  was  then  that 
he  sat  down  upon  a  fallen  oak  and  wept  bitter  tears,  that  the 
haunts  of  his  youth  were  being  despoiled  of  all  that  had 
rejoiced  the  heart  of  his  childhood  and  manhood. 

The  medicinal  properties  of  plants  and  roots  were  under- 
stood by  the  Iroquois,  and  although  the  knowledge  was  prin- 
cipally confined  to  the  "  medicine-men,"  we  find  in  the  myths 
many  allusions  to  the  wonderful  cures  produced  by  the  use 
of  even  the  simplest  vegetable  remedies. 

The  origin  of  medicine  among  the  Tuscaroras  was  related 
to  me  as  follows  by  Chief  John  Mountpleasant  of  the  Bear 
clan  :  Once  upon  a  time  a  sickly  old  man,  covered  with 
sores,  entered  an  Indian  village,  where  over  each  wigwam 
was  placed  the  sign  of  the  clan  of  its  possessor;  for  in- 
stance, the  beaver-skin  denoting  the  Beaver  clan  ;  the  deer- 
skin, the  Deer  clan.  At  each  of  these  wigwams  the  old  man 
applied  for  food  and  a  night's  lodging;  but  his  repulsive 
appearance  rendered  him  an  object  of  scorn,  and  the  Wolf 
and  the  Tortoise  and  the  Heron  had  bidden  the  abject  old 
man  to  pass  on.  At  length,  tired  and  weary,  he  arrived  at 
a  wigwam  where  a  bear-skin  betokened  the  clanship  of  its 
owner.  This  he  found  inhabited  by  a  kind-hearted  woman, 


g6  In  Memoriam. 

who  immediately  refreshed  him  with  food,  and  spread  out 
skins  for  his  bed.  Then  she  was  instructed  to  go  in  search 
of  certain  herbs,  which  she  prepared  according  to  his  direc- 
tions, and  through  their  efficacy  he  was  soon  healed.  Then 
he  commanded  that  she  should  treasure  up  this  secret.  A 
few  days  after,  he  sickened  with  a  fever,  and  again  com- 
manded her  to  search  for  other  herbs,  and  was  again  healed. 
This  being  many  times  repeated,  he  at  last  told  his  bene- 
factress that  his  mission  was  accomplished,  and  that  she  was 
now  endowed  with  all  the  secrets  for  curing  disease  in  all 
its  forms,  and  that  before  her  wigwam  should  grow  a  hemlock 
tree,  whose  branches  should  reach  high  into  the  air  above  all 
others,  to  signify  that  her  clan  should  increase  and  multiply, 
and  that  the  bear  should  take  precedence  of  all  other  clans. 

The  origin  of  medicine  among  the  Senecas  is  as  follows  : 
Nearly  two  hundred  years  ago,  a  man  went  into  the  woods 
on  a  hunting  expedition.  He  was  quite  alone.  He  camped 
out  in  a  field,  and  was  wakened  in  the  night  by  the  sound  of 
singing  and  a  noise  like  the  beating  of  a  drum.  He  could 
not  sleep  any  more,  so  he  arose  and  went  in  the  direction  of 
the  sound.  To  his  surprise,  the  place  had  all  the  appearance 
of  being  inhabited.  On  the  one  hand,  there  was  a  large 
squash  vine  with  three  squashes  on  it,  and  on  the  other,  a 
hill  of  corn ;  and  three  ears  of  corn  grew  apart  from  all  the 
others.  He  was  unable  to  guess  what  it  meant,  but  started 
off  on  his  hunting  once  more,  determined  to  return  some 
evening,  being  both  curious  and  uneasy.  In  the  night,  as 
he  slept  near  by,  he  heard  again  a  noise,  and,  awaking,  saw 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  97 

a  man  looking  at  him,  who  said,  "  Beware !  I  am  after  you. 
What  you  saw  was  sacred  ;  you  deserve  to  die."  But  the 
people,  who  now  gathered  around,  said  they  would  pardon  it, 
and  would  tell  him  the  secret  they  possessed.  "  The  great 
medicine  for  wounds,"  said  the  man  who  had  awakened  him, 
"  is  squash  and  corn  ;  come  with  me,  and  I  will  teach  you." 

He  led  him  to  the  spot  where  the  people  were  assembled, 
and  there  he  saw  a  fire,  and  a  laurel  bush  which  looked  like 
iron.  The  crowds  danced  around  it,  singing  and  rattling 
gourd  shells,  and  he  begged  them  to  tell  him  what  they  did 
it  for ;  then  one  of  them  heated  a  stick  and  thrust  it  right 
through  his  cheek,  and  then  applied  some  of  the  medicine  to 
prove  to  him  how  quickly  it  could  heal  the  wound.  Then 
they  did  the  same  to  his  leg.  All  the  time  they  sang  a  tune, 
they  called  it  the  "  medicine  song,"  and  taught  it  to  him. 
Then  he  turned  to  go  home,  and  all  at  once  he  perceived 
that  they  were  not  human  beings,  but  animals,  bears, 
beavers,  and  foxes,  which  all  flew  off  as  he  looked.  They 
had  given  him  directions  to  take  one  stalk  of  corn  and  dry 
the  cob  and  pound  it  very  fine,  and  to  take  one  squash  and 
cut  it  up  and  pound  that,  and  they  then  showed  him  how 
much  for  a  dose.  He  was  to  take  water  from  a  running 
spring,  and  always  from  up  the  stream,  and  never  down. 
He  made  up  the  prescription,  and  used  it  with  very  great 
success,  and  made  enough  before  he  died  to  last  over  one 
hundred  years. 

This  was  the  origin  of  the  great  medicine  of  the  Senecas. 
The  people  sing  over  its  preparation  every  time  the  deer 

'3 


98  In  Memoriam. 

changes  his  coat ;  and  when  it  is  administered  to  a  patient, 
they  sing  the  "  medicine  song,"  while  they  rattle  a  gourd  shell 
as  accompaniment,  and  burn  tobacco.  Burning  tobacco  is 
the  same  as  praying.  In  times  of  trouble  or  fear,  after  a 
bad  dream,  or  any  event  which  frightens  them,  they  say, 
"  My  mother  went  out  and  burned  tobacco." 

The  medicine  is  prepared  now  with  the  addition  of  meat. 

Numerous  are  the  Iroquois  legends  regarding  the  Flora 
surrounding  them. 

I  will  close  with  the  origin  of  the  pond  lily  from  the 
Huron-Iroquois,  to  which  Aldrich  in  poetizing  has  added,  if 
possible,  another  tint. 

Young  Wa'-wah  had  been  killed  in  the  war.  Miantowona, 
his  love,  stoically  heard  of  his  death,  and  meekly  continued 
her  care  of  an  aged  father.  But  when  the  old  man  died,  she 
wept  not,  and  while  the  mourners  were  chanting  the  dirges 
she  stole  from  among  them  toward  the  bright  water;  but 
Na-ha'-ho,  who  had  long  loved  her  in  secret,  quickly  pursued 
her  to  the  river  bank :  — 

"  What  did  he  see  there 
Could  so  appall  him? 
Only  a  circle 
Swiftly  expanding, 
Fading  before  him. 
But  as  he  watched  it, 
Up  from  the  centre 
Slowly,  superbly, 
Rose  a  Pond  Lily." 


NEW-YEAR     GREETING. 

REV.    PHEBE    A.    HANNAFORD. 

From  "  Echoes  of  the  ALsthetic  Society" 

'TNHE  morning  broke  bright  as  an  angel's  pinion, 

The  winter  diamonds  sparkled  on  the  boughs, 
We,  who  had  feared  the  storm-king's  dark  dominion, 

Smiled  at  our  dread,  and  lifted  heavenward  brows 
Serene  as  starlight,  hopeful  on  that  morning 

For  all  events  that  to  our  lot  should  come 
When  the  new  year  that  thus  so  bright  was  dawning 

Should  be  with  us  for  twelve  long  months  at  home. 

We  hoped,  nor  hoped  amiss,  that  eighteen-eighty 

Would  far  outstrip  the  joys  of  seventy-nine  ; 
And  did  we  not  reach  this  conclusion  weighty, 

That  we  would  patient  be,  nor  once  repine  ? 
Though  storms  should  come,  we  'd  look  for  sunny  weather 

When  from  our  paths  the  mists  should  roll  away, 
And  trust  th'  unfailing  love  of  that  All- Father 

Who  sees  in  shadow  more  than  we  by  day. 

Then  as  we  gave  to  those  frost-jewels  fleeting 

Our  admiration,  and  our  welcome  too, 
So  let  me  give  to  these  ^Esthetics  greeting, 

Who  blaze  with  genius,  beam  in  friendship  true. 
Here,  where  we  read  a  truth  that  needs  no  proving, 

We  Ve  sought  to  learn  of  Nature's  works  and  ways, 
Our  knowledge  leading  to  a  deeper  loving 

Of  Him  whose  thought  expression  finds  in  these 


ioo  In  Memoriam. 

Strange  forms  of  rock -from  distant  vale  and  mountain, 

Symmetric  crystals  from  the  quarry's  heart : 
A  chalice  each,  with  draughts  from  wisdom's  fountain, 

We  quaff  with  eagerness ;  for  they  impart 
The  life-elixir  that  the  spirit  needeth, 

The  panacea  for  many  an  earthly  woe, 
The  knowledge  that,  once  gained,  the  spirit  speedeth 

Still  more  and  more  of  God's  great  works  to  know. 

Surely  the  new  year  opens  with  a  gladness 

The  spiritually  wise  alone  can  know, 
When,  as  a  balm  for  all  the  old  year's  sadness 

We  upward  look,  and  see  the  morning  glow 
Which  faith  affords,  as  we,  His  works  beholding, 

God's  wondrous  power  and  equal  goodness  see, 
Which  tell,  while  His  grand  purpose  is  unfolding, 

How  firm  in  His  great  love  our  trust  may  be. 

Then  blessings  on  the  kind  and  wise  provider 

Of  feasts  so  welcome  for  both  heart  and  mind, 
Who  bids  us  sit  in  wondering  trust  beside  her, 

And,  listening  here,  a  pure  enjoyment  find. 
"  A  thousandth  part  we  know  not  of  the  wonders," l 

The  Infinite  alone  can  know  them  all ! 
But  louder  than  the  cataract's  echoing  thunders, 

We  hear,  through  her,  the  wonder-worker's  call ; 

And  we  will  study  through  the  coming  seasons, 
Of  rock  and  shell,  of  gem  and  fern  and  flower, 

With  hope  that  as  we  question  Nature's  reasons, 
Her  why  and  wherefore  shall  be  beauty's  dower, 

1  Referring  to  an  inscription  over  one  of  the  mineral  cabinets. 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  101 

To  make  us  fair  in  spirit,  e'er  reflecting 

The  mind  of  Him  who  mirrored  love  divine, 

Till  the  great  glory  which  we  were  expecting 

In  Life's  grand  new-year  round  our  path  shall  shine. 

Then  will  those  object-lessons  still  be  given 

To  students  who  are  veiled  in  flesh  no  more, 
While  music  sounds  amid  the  bliss  of  heaven, 

Whose  echoes  sweet  oft  reach  this  earthly  shore ; 
And  there,  we  trust,  this  band  will  yet  assemble, 

Teacher  and  taught,  within  that  city's  wall 
Whose  flashing  gems  she  told  us  but  resemble 

The  glorious  attributes  of  Him  we  call 

Both  God  and  Father,  in  His  Son  revealing 

The  Sovereign  and  the  Sire  !  till  we  obey, 
His  love  our  summons,  till  we,  reverent  kneeling, 

Gladly  resign  ourselves  to  His  dear  sway. 
Then  shall  we  hail  Eternity's  glad  morning, 

The  new-year  that  shall  break  beyond  the  tomb, 
The  untold,  unknown  gladness  of  that  dawning 

That  knows  no  more  bereavement's  night  of  gloom. 

Then  shall  we  range  the  universe  of  glory, 

Turn  the  great  pages  of  creation  o'er, 
Soar  'mid  the  stars  and  list  their  wondrous  story, 

The  Elder  Scriptures  not  unread  before : 
And  ever  as  we  rise  new  wisdom  gaining, 

The  Gospel-spirit  we  shall  make  our  own, 
The  loftiest  truth  behold,  —  our  crown  attaining,  — 

Love  amid  law,  —  the  Lamb  amidst  the  throne. 

1880. 


IO2  In  Memoriam. 


"STILL    ACHIEVING." 

BY    WILL    CARLETON. 
Written  for  this  Memorial. 

OHE  walked  upon  the  mountain-tops 

Until  her  day  was  done ; 
To  earth  the  wearied  body  drops  ; 
But  that  great  soul  no  longer  stops, 
Than  does  the  setting  sun. 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  103 


SUMMERVILLE,  S.  C.,  May  2,  1890. 

MY  DEAR  MRS.  LEE,  —  Thank  you  for  writing  the  letter  which 
was  forwarded  to  me  through  the  kindness  of  my  friend,  Mrs.  Olive 
Thorne  Miller.  Mrs.  Smith  was  worthy  better  tribute  than  any  of  us 
can  offer  her,  and  our  best  attempts  do  but  mock  the  feeling  which 
we  who  loved  and  admired  her  cherish  for  her  memory. 

In  the  Meridian  Club,  of  which  we  were  fellow  members,  I  said 
a  few  awkward  but  deeply  sincere  words,  one  day,  in  memory  of  her ; 
but  not  being  aware  until  entering  the  room  that  the  hour  was  to 
be  devoted  to  talk  of  her,  I  did  not  do  my  heart  justice.  Again,  in 
Sorosis,  I  was  asked  to  write  a  poem  to  read  on  "  Science  Day  "  fol- 
lowing her  death,  as  that  day  was  to  be  given  up  to  memories  of  her, 
and  tributes  to  her  virtues  and  graces.  The  verses  were  afterward 
printed  in  the  Boston  "Woman's  Journal,"  I  think  in  a  letter  of 
Kate  Sanborn's. 

When  your  letter  came,  my  brain  seemed  so  numb  with  ceaseless 
and  overwhelming  anxiety,  that  it  seemed  useless  to  attempt  to  spur 
it  into  any  sort  of  exertion.  I  think  of  nothing,  know  nothing,  but 
the  dear  and  only  child  whose  life  depends  upon  our  watchful  care, 
and  who  has  not  improved  as  we  had  hoped  and  expected  under 
Florida  skies.  Shall  I  tell  you  what  warmed  heart  and  brain  to  the 
effect  of  writing  some  brief  tribute  to  this  sweet  and  dear  dead  friend  ? 
It  was  the  memory  of  the  last  time  I  saw  her  face,  when  she  had 
brought  with  her  from  Jersey  City  to  the  Brunswick  Hotel,  where  our 
Meridian  Club  met,  a  box  of  heavy  minerals  for  my  dear  Clare,  because 
"she  had  promised  them,"  and  she  "would  not  for  the  world  dis- 
appoint a  child  " !  How  the  tears  come  as  I  remember  that  action 
and  her  white  face  !  for  she  was  even  then  very  near  that  grave  which 
to-day  enfolds  her. 


IO4  In  Memoriam. 

My  time  is  much  broken  and  absorbed,  and  only  a  little  can 
be  snatched,  now  and  then,  to  write ;  but  will  try  to  do  it  when  the 
rest  are  asleep.  For  I  am  often  so  restless,  so  anxious,  so  feverish 
with  dread  and  apprehension,  that  I  cannot  sleep  until  far  into  the 
morning.  This  is  Friday  noon,  it  may  not  be  possible  to  send  the 
verses  before  Sunday  night ;  but  I  think  I  can  promise  to  do  so  then, 
and  wish  my  pen  were  tipped  with  eloquence  to  say  what  I  would 
have  it !  .... 

Meanwhile,  rejoicing  in  the  beautiful  wreath  you  have  undertaken 
to  weave,  and  thanking  you  for  permitting  me  to  add  my  poor  leaf, 
believe  me,  my  dear  Mrs.  Lee, 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

MAY  RILEY  SMITH. 

This  letter  is  so  appreciative  of  one  of  "  our  dear  dead  friend's  "  beautiful 
traits  of  character,  in  considering  a  promise  to  be  sacred,  though  given  only  to 
a  child,  and  so  eloquent  with  gratitude  to  the  woman  "  who  would  not  for  the 
world  disappoint "  one  of  these  little  ones,  that  I  trust  the  writer  will  accept 
my  apology  for  not  first  seeking  her  permission  (occasioned  by  lack  of  time), 
and  will  pardon  the  publishing  here  of  what  was  a  private  letter  ;  but  this  prose 
of  a  gifted  poet,  which  is  in  itself  a  poem,  should  be  entwined  in  this  wreath. 

S.  L.  L. 


IN     MEMORIAM. 

BY    MAY   RILEY   SMITH. 
Written  for  this  Memorial. 

f~\  WHAT,  grim  Death,  hadst  thou  to  do  with  her  ? 
^>^     Thou  hast  no  friend ;  for  even  Misery 

Doth  hide  her  face  and  shudder  back  from  thee  ; 
In  all  the  world  thou  hast  no  worshipper. 

Each  host  doth  greet  thy  face  with  sullen  fears ; 
And  when  at  length  thou  turnest  from  his  roof, 
And  at  his  gate  thy  pale  steed  lifts  his  hoof, 

The  stirrup-cup  is  brimmed  with  bitter  tears. 

What,  niggard  host,  had  she  to  do  with  thee, 
Whose  narrow  house  admits  one  prostrate  guest, 
Whose  grassy  paths  thy  tenants  ne'er  have  pressed, 

And  past  whose  doors  the  frightened  children  flee  ? 

The  wide  rooms  of  her  hospitable  heart 
Gave  to  its  eager  guests  such  royal  fare, 
That  of  the  company  she  summoned  there 

Not  one  who  entered  ever  did  depart. 

And  now,  while  our  warm  tear-drops  fall  like  rain 
On  the  low  hut  where  death  hath  laid  her  prone, 
We  say,  *'  Until  this  hour,  when  was  it  known 

That  one  who  loved  her  tried  her  latch  in  vain?" 
'4 


io6  In  Memoriam. 

O  thou  marauder,  Death  !  thy  anodyne 

Hath  drugged  a  regal  brain,  at  whose  rich  inn 
Full  many  a  good  and  noble  guest  hath  been 

To  share  its  feast,  and  taste  its  matchless  wine  ! 

And  yet  we  wrong  thee  with  our  foolish  breath. 
For  it  was  thou  who  led  her  to  that  shore 
Where  thou  canst  never  touch  or  hann  her  more, 

And  thou  didst  give  her  Life,  whose  name  is  Death  ! 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  107 


HOW     FAIR     SHE     IS. 

BY    HILLARY    BELL. 
Written  for  this  Memorial. 

TTOW  fair  she  is,  we  know  not.     Nor  shall  know 
When  all  the  seeds  she  scattered  are  in  blow. 
She  wandered  hidden  paths,  down  separate  ways, 
Whereto  we  followed  slowly,  in  amaze 
To  note  the  desert  bloom  beneath  her  tread, 
And  vacant  minds  by  her  inhabited. 
The  reaping  was  not  hers ;  but  hers  to  sow 
The  harvest  that  in  after  days  shall  show 
How  fair  she  is. 

Yet  we,  with  whom  the  kindlier  memories  flow 
Of  that  unselfish  friendship  which  we  owe, 
Shall  hold  our  truer  knowledge  but  begun 
Till  God's  calm  angel,  standing  near  the  sun, 
Uplifts  his  wings  to  teach  us  in  the  glow 
How  fair  she  is. 


io8  In  Memoriam. 


TO   ERMINNIE   A.   SMITH. 

BY    MARY   E.    BRYAN. 
Written  for  this  Memorial. 

OPRING  comes  to  wake  the  Earth  from  Winter's  sadness, 

To  quicken  too,  our  memory  of  One 
Whose  Spirit  of  electric  life  and  gladness 
Shone  on  us  with  an  influence  like  the  sun. 

A  Spirit  that  Death's  cloud  too  quickly  shaded, 

Though  but  to  us  it  suffered  an  eclipse  ; 
For  us  —  awhile  —  thy  tender  smile  has  faded,    • 

And  hushed  the  music  of  thy  eloquent  lips. 

A  soul  like  thine  we  know  must  be  eternal, 

Strong  to  inspire,  and  quick  to  thrill  and  warm  ; 

It  still  must  live  —  whether  on  shores  supernal, 
Or  re-incarnate  in  some  noble  form  — 

We  cannot  know ;  our  souls  thrill  with  emotion 
And  yearnings  high ;  yet  lie  we  on  Time's  shore, 

Shut  in  this  mortal  shell,  while  the  great  ocean 
Of  Mystery  pulses  round  us  evermore. 

But  even  here  thy  Spirit  is  immortal : 

It  echoes  like  sweet  music  through  our  days ; 

It  beckons  to  us  from  some  mystic  portal, 

Through  which  stream  on  us  clearer,  purer  rays. 


Mrs.  Erminnie  A.  Smith.  109 

It  still  sounds  for  us  the  key-note  of  thy  spirit,  — 
Love  for  all  things,  — love>  strong  to  help  and  save  ; 

Love  even  for  the  sad  races  that  inherit 

Defeat  and  shame,  far  by  the  Western  wave  ! 

O  deathless  soul  of  love  and  fire  and  beauty,  — 

Who  faded  from  our  sight  one  day  in  spring, 
As  that  sad  day  rolls  round,  our  loving  duty 

Bids  us  dear  memories  and  fresh  flowers  to  bring 

Votive  to  thee !  the  thought  of  thee  comes  o'er  us 
Sweet  as  a  breath  of  perfume  mixed  with  song 

Blown  from  some  tropic  island  where  a  chorus 

Of  song  and  sweetness  breathes  the  whole  year  long,  — 

And  all  life's  little  cares  fade  in  a  vision 

Of  vast  wide  splendor,  safe  from  all  eclipse ; 
Where  bright  we  see  thy  face  in  light  elysian, 

And  catch  the  smile  of  thy  sweet,  tender  lips. 


no  In  Memoriam. 


"  BECAUSE  "...  THOU    ART. 

BY    MARGARET    E.    SANGSTER. 
Written  for  this  Memorial. 

"DECAUSE,  dear  friend,  you  were  so  sweet  and  strong, 

So  tender,  so  benignant,  and  so  true, 
So  tolerant  to  all  except  the  wrong, 

So  wise  to  win,  so  fearless  to  pursue 
The  dangerous  quest,  if  science,  learning,  art, 
Allured  or  dared  your  peerless  woman's  heart, 

Because  of  what  you  were,  we  count  you  still 
A  presence  in  our  lives.     You  are  to-day ! 

You  animate  in  us  the  conquering  will, 
Your  thought  from  ours  is  never  far  away. 

How  can  we  scatter  flowers  upon  your  grave  ? 

You,  living  ever,  strong  and  sweet  and  brave. 


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